Land Clearing - Burn Brush or Not?

[secureland]

Hi,

I'm opening up a couple of acres. Cutting down a lot of small White Ash and 10-15" Scotch Pine.

I've got brush piles all over the place and they just keep getting bigger. Is there a safe way to burn these? I don't want to bring in big equipment if I can avoid it.

Thanks for any replies

 

[Zackman1801]

call up your local FD and get a burn permit first off, if your state requires it. You do not want them showing up and you not having a permit, you will be fined big time. Next is to find a rainy day, or a cold winter day that its snowing to burn, during these times its less likely for embers to spread and catch other things on fire. Make sure if you do burn that you also keep some type of water or other fire extinguishing equipment near by to ensure that if you do start something unintentionally on fire you can extinguish it quickly.

 

[2dogs]

call up your local FD and get a burn permit first off, if your state requires it. You do not want them showing up and you not having a permit, you will be fined big time. Next is to find a rainy day, or a cold winter day that its snowing to burn, during these times its less likely for embers to spread and catch other things on fire. Make sure if you do burn that you also keep some type of water or other fire extinguishing equipment near by to ensure that if you do start something unintentionally on fire you can extinguish it quickly.

Yep! Well said, rep comin.

Secureland get yourself a 5 gallon back pump. You may never need it but if you do...

 

[thejdman04]

I agree wait for a rainy day push as much leaves brush as you can around the pile up, so you get down to black dirt wait till it isnt windy and burn it.

 

[johncinco]

Hard to say how much you will have to get rid of on a couple acres, I did the cut and burn a couple times clearing off for feed plats. The last couple times I changed my mind and rented a chipper. I did all the clearing off first and had several piles of stuff ready for the chipper. Rented for a 1/2 day on Saturday and didnt have to have it back until Monday. I blew the chips back into the woods away from my clearing. No ash piles, scarred ground, potential for fire spreading after you went home for the day (which did happen to me once) I made multiple smaller piles, made it easier to pull the branches out to feed into the chipper rather than one huge pile. To me it was a much better end result and effort than burning over multiple days. Cost me about $200 for the rental. If I could find a chipper to mount to the back of my tractor 3 point I would buy one.

 

[BC_Logger]

Chipp in the summer and burn in the winter thats what i do

 

[380LGR]

I would chip everything because when you burn you are stuck there for days babysitting burn piles.

 

[Mike Van]

Your sig doesn't say where in the northeast you are? In Ct., you need a permit. Towns with a pop. under 5000 can burn, over that can't. You can NOT burn here on a rainy day, your permit will say that. It states "clear to partly cloudy with wind not over 20 mph." It's not about safe, it's about the smoke, in the rain, it doesn't go away. The day after a good rain is what I try for. Your permit is good for a month, but on the days you want to. you have to call in the morning & see if it's o.k. [too dry will be a big no]

 

[Ironmart]

Chip it up...

Definitely chip. Like the previous poster said, burning is a babysitting effort, whereas a decent size chipper will handle a lot of material in a single day. Tons and tons of wood slash can go through a small 19" towable Trelan or Rayco or any comparable chipper. Plus burning is just bad for the environment, period.

Jesse



www.ironmart.com

 

[hammerlogging]

depending on your schedule, buring is not that big of a deal. And its not like babysitting, if conditions are decent. Hot fires will significantly alter (adversely) the productivity of the soil on that spot, so adjust or plan accordingly. Anf call the law... C.Y.A.

Ironmart, the carbon cycle. Carbon in carbon out. Burning wood is a lot simpler and shorter system than taking fossil fuels from 2 million feet below the ground in permanent storage and burning it in your chipper. That, in our time frame, is all carbon out.

Just pointing it out. I'm a petrol sinner as much as anyone.

 

[secureland]

Thanks for all the helpful responses,
I'm in the northeast and it's wet here now. I've burned in the past and called the fire chief to let him know (no permit required). I'll be perfectly direct, I get nervous whenever I burn. Even if it's wet out it's hard for me not to worry about some ember having set onto the perfect dry leaf that's just out of sight. Am I out of line for worrying like this?
The chipper is cost prohibitive and heavy equipment is a concern because I am converting this area to garden and want to keep the soil in good condition. If I don't burn it will just be a lot of brush piles and maybe someday rent a chipper.

 

[ak4195]

Id vote for winter burn if it can wait,call it a family or neighborhood bonfire.I do one on winter solstice almost ever yr,-10 degs this yr.Dug a large area out in the snow for 7-10 foldup chairs,(berm up the snow,reflects heat/blocks wind)steaks n ahi on the grill(eat fast its coolin QUICK!).Salad and salad dressing froze as did the homemade wine,table was to far away from the fire.Beer slushies anyone?

ak4195

 

[Sprig]

Being a sort of regular-type guy I like smoke & fire, big fire.... smoke, tits, steaks, beerz, all the fun stuff blah blah blah.
Really though, if ya can swing it, chipping is probably your best bet if you wish to add to the soil/bio-mass. Though burning is certainly fun, it wastes a lot of nutrients that could otherwise be creating soil for/around your cleared area. Chips can help with path making and plant control too. There is of course fire concerns, ie. having too much slash/dry mulch around to be safe, so you should sort of balance the idea.
Just my unworthy 0.02$ worth.



Serge

 

[ShoerFast]

Brush piles are also good for wildlife, pheasants, ducks and sometimes geese will nest in them. They offer rabbits and squirrels a chance from predators making wildlife viewing a little better.

It seems that some plants like the nutrients of a decomposed brush pile as well or better as the ashes.

Just another $0.03 cents worth.

 

[slowp]

Nobody mentioned covering the piles? You can put some plastic on them after they've dried out, Fall is a good time, to keep a core area dry. Then wait for winter--snow if you have it. Get the pile cooking in that dry spot, and then, with what we call "chunking" (going back and pushing the outside edges in as it burns) you'll get a good burn. Got fuel?

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Having a leaf blower to blow air on a fire really help burn wet wood. Also as said earlier the heat from the burning will hurt the soil. So make one burning area and use that. You can use a strap or chain pile the brush on it wrap it around the pile when done and drag it with a fourwheeler or tractor to the burn area.

I made a water hole and had a fire hose pump and hose to keep my fire under control.

Here's a link to one big brush pile I burnt

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=30837

Billy

 

[RPM]

A tiger torch with 50' of line and a 20lb bottle of propane is the ticket for getting a pile going. I do alot of slash piles in the fall (logging debris) and we often put the propane bottles on quads (with 100' of hose) - works slick, especialy when things are just a little damp.

The attached photos are from 2007, mostly beetle killed Lodgepole and no market for dry checked timber....no pulp, no post and rail and not sawlog quality. Fun to light up though....

 

[secureland]

A tiger torch with 50' of line and a 20lb bottle of propane is the ticket for getting a pile going. I do alot of slash piles in the fall (logging debris) and we often put the propane bottles on quads (with 100' of hose) - works slick, especialy when things are just a little damp.

The attached photos are from 2007, mostly beetle killed Lodgepole and no market for dry checked timber....no pulp, no post and rail and not sawlog quality. Fun to light up though....

Holy Sh..t! Are the kabobs done yet?

 

[RPM]

Holy Sh..t! Are the kabobs done yet?

Yah....the radiant heat that is thrown off those piles is pretty wicked. Nothing but a big black smudge the next morning.

 

[willt1981]

i feel like theres alot of worry here over something that isnt a big deal. at least where i am its virtually impossible to start any sort of wildfire in normal conditions (if it hasnt rained in three weeks and the wind is blowing at fifty i might wait a day). ive had piles burn for weeks when i was burning large stuff that wasnt good for firewood or timber (buckeye, crooked pine). just go back once a day with the tractor and push it together. no babysitting needed. no permits needed. as one poster said chipping just adds more carbon to what youd release burning anyway. and im not sure why burning hurts the soil. in the last five years ive cleared about thirty acres for pasture and burned all the brush. five years later you can still see where the fires were becasue the grass is so much GREENER. keep in mind our soil is virtually devoid of phosphate so that could be where the boost comes from. i guess if youre uncomfortable dont do it but to me it just seems like the common sense way to get rid of unwanted material.