No. It doesn't hurt if a few piles don't burn. Wildlife uses them. When you have to buy expensive equipment it makes leaving the pile more economical. I can't imagine lugging a generator around on a hillside side to get slash burned. Is that what you do?
The secret to a good pile starts with the piler. Fines and small stuff on the bottom bigger stuff on top. Compact the pile. Then cover PART of it and let that get dry. The whole pile doesn't have to be dry, just a core area to get going and heated up. If one wants to be neat, one returns a couple of times and "chunks" the pile. We do that by hand, but a cat could be used on the flatter ground. Chunking is pushing or throwing in the unburned chunks on the outside edges. Piles burn hot in the center but the outer edges usually don't get hot enough for a clean burn.
She didn't think those piles would burn, but with our dry spell, was trying. When I went by on Sunday, she had one of the stubborn ones going good.
