The last thing you want to see after your firewood is split and stacked

[Guswhit]

Monday afternoon, while still at work I heard the local fire department get toned out but didn't think much about it. It was around 4:00 when that happened, about 4:45 a guy who knows me and where I split wood called and said I better go investigate and maybe move my equipment because a brush fire was out of control.

Here are some shots of what I saw when I got there, the fire was only burning for about 45 minutes but we had wind gusts of 40 mph. I got the splitter and the tractor out without any issues and the fire was extremely close, about 30' up a small embankment but luckily the wind was blowing the fire straight north and my stacks survived. It ended up burning over 300 acres of prairie land and threatened several homes. If not for the dedication and speed of many local, small fire departments at least 20 homes would have been lost or damaged. I commend them all! May have to rethink where I stack the next bunch.

 

[ric5141]

Glad everything was saved. And your local firemen are always heroes!

 

[zogger]

Serious luckout!

Split your stuff up! natural disasters, freekin thieves, who knows, but I say, don't keep all your important stuff in one place.

 

[mainewoods]

Lucky break Guswhit. Good for you!

 

[turnkey4099]

15-20 years ago, middle of summer, dry, dry and drier. Relaxing in front of the TV and heard something. Looked out and a grass fire was going up my lot line and engines working it. Some dip had tossed a cigarret in the ditch. Had a stubble fire just behind my house. I heard that one start. Harvest season with combine and crew working. Heard a big BANG! and saw a truck on fire about 50ft from my fence sitting in stubble.

No damage to me but I started piling my stash (currently over 80 cords) in separate piles, Can't get them very separated though as my wood is all in my 1 acre pasture. Now I keep that mowed just like I do the lawn and hoses permanently strung.

Harry K

 

[c5rulz]

Is that switchgrass burning. If so it's pretty scary to see it go up.

 

[muddstopper]

Man, I know the feeling. This past wednsday, I was out of town and my SOL calls me and ask, wheres my wife, theres a fire at my house and she isnt answering the phone. Now, I could go on about how Brothers house is only a few hundred yards away from mine and why in the heck doesnt she go find out, but I wont. Anyways, someone had set fires in about three different locations over about a half mile of hiway next to my house. Wind blowing 90mph and fire spreading very fast. It took 4 fire trucks and the US Forest Service dozer, ( they are only about a half mile from my house) to keep everything I had from burning up. Everybody can look now and think, dang, a brush fire, but it came within about 100ft of the house. The fire burnt off all the vegetation on a 2:1sloped fill area and melted all the storm water drains designed to carry water off the slope and prevent washouts. Right now I am one good thunderstorm away from having a washout that could cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair. We installed 100ft of the new pipe today and I have about that much more to install tomorrow and try to get the area hydroseeded, before it supposed to start storming on friday. Fire departments havent said what started the fires, but three fires that close together on the side of a paved hyway, it wasnt a cigarette smoker throwing out a butt, or they where chain smoking awfull fast.

 

[pennsywoodburnr]

I would've had a heart attack had I seen that coming my way. Where Asplundh comes through and cuts back the right of way for the powerlines behind my house is always a concern to me. The trees they drop on my and other neighbors property isn't really what gets me mad (after all, I take all the lumber I can get after asking the neighbors if they want first dibs), what gets me pissed is the bobcat that mows everything flat from shrubs to small sapling trees. Then they use some kind of growth inhibitor to keep the area dead for a while. Some folks have told me it's basically Round Up. All that dead underbrush and kindling is a fire waiting to happen during a drought. I've cleaned up what I could to remove as much fuel as possible, but only on my property.

 

[Guswhit]

Is that switchgrass burning. If so it's pretty scary to see it go up.

This is some kind of permanent prairie that the infamous Fish & Wildlife service manage. "Native grasses", what ever that means.

 

[zogger]

This is some kind of permanent prairie that the infamous Fish & Wildlife service manage. "Native grasses", what ever that means.

From what I remember, it should be a mixture of upwards of two hundred different species.

If I owned this farm, that is what I would put the pasture in.

 

[greendohn]

Great pictures! Good to hear you didn't lose anything.
Our local fire dept. has never lost a foundation!! LOL,,
Was some bean stubble on fire yesterday along the hi-way, we never really see that kind of thing around here.

 

[NCSteveH]

That's why we keep a 12' disk hooked to one of our tractors at the farm at all times, real easy to create a fire break that way.

 

[lefturnfreek]

Nature caused fire or 2 legged disaster caused?

 

[Guswhit]

Betting on 2 legged variety. Bike path meanders through this prairie area for a couple of miles and it started at the southern most end. Probably never find out for sure. I'll try and snap a picture from one end to the other so you can get a sense of the size.

 

[Guswhit]

Here are some after shots so you can see the size.

 

[lefturnfreek]

Dang, that's just little bit eh.... good to hear no one was hurt and no property issues

 

[mr.finn]

WOW!! That is a lot. Or at least it looks it to me. On the other hand, at least it wasn't the forest..

 

[lefturnfreek]

Quite a bit north of me there was a fire near Dawson Bay, cause by a 2 legged idiot and it cost em $260,000, oooppsssssyyyy.....