BURN OFF

Were the weeds up and green so that the fire would have a killing effect on them?

I burned a small patch last weekend.
Have about 40-50 acres of prairie that I burn every 3-4 years. That is a fire and a half. We call in some help for that project.

First, let me preface this by saying I wasn't there and it's difficult to get the whole picture from a video. I shut it off at about 7 minutes in, so if what I'm about to say is wrong and was shown in the last few minutes, I apologize. Same with the fact that I wasn't there to see the entire process..... What I am about to say should be taken as constructive criticism, not the start of a peeing match.

There's a few things I see that you should have done much differently. Fire retardant clothing is a MUST. At the very least, NO synthetics. Radios are highly necessary on a burn that large. I saw neither FR clothing or radios. I would assume you notified the local fire department beforehand.

Again, on a burn that large, you need a BUNCH of tools. Fire flappers, shovels, rakes, water tanks, water packs, etc, etc, etc. Trust me, RX burns can and DO get away from even the professionals from time to time. You have GOT TO BE PREPARED TO FIGHT IT. Even a flaming raccoon can cause a line jump. Don't laugh- it's happened.

I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but the DNR considers flame lengths in excess of 6' tall "uncontrollable". It looks like you had flame lengths much longer than that. Again, see the above paragraph.

I would highly encourage you (and everyone involved with these burns) to go through a "red card" course with the DNR. I've held the certification in the past and have helped burn many acres with the DNR. Another option, one that takes more time and money but teaches the same thing, is a Purdue course- FNR 444 (unless the course number has changed in the last several years). When I took the class, the state fire coordinator (Steve Creech at the time) taught the course.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you listen to NOTHING else I've told you- email Crystal Hunt at FHQ for more info on the red card certification: www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/2852.htm Every state has a program, so if you didn't do this in Indiana check with the correct state forestry department.

Again, I'm not trying to start a peeing match by any means. Just trying to make sure you know there's more to it than simply lighting a patch of ground on fire.

There was some Nomex there, but not everyone had it, as we are not pro burn specialists by any means. Most of the guys there were as observers and not on the fire line. We used cell phones in place of radios.

The local fire watch was notified and touched base with me several times during the burn. All the neighboring farmers were notified before hand, as was Fish and Wildlife and Forestry.

We had a large supply of water, even though we needed none. The area was prepared to the max before the burn and we had NO threats to deal with during the burn. We had a good plan and enough tools to deal with any breach of the fire breaks that we had in place. The burn was done late in the evening, while the humidity and winds were good.

I've been on plenty of burns, both done by ametuers and professionals, and all of them had flames higher than 6'. Heck, most of the cedars that went up were much higher than 6'. At no time did the flames get out of control.

You give good advice, but we had several experience people at the burn. But overall, the key to the success of the burn was the properations of the fire breaks. We had plowed and disc bare dirt all around the perimeter and doubled along the wooded sections. This burn was the best burn I've been on and it went done wonderfully.

Some areas require a good controled burn-off, like the one in Timex's video. That was a good burn-off, Tom, and from what I saw; that Hunting club looks like a well managed area.