Burning brush piles

[Homer75]

As I’m burning some brush piles, it got me thinking about how long do people wait to burn their bush piles. I had 40ac cleared of some nasty cedar, oaks and underbrush earlier in the year and I’m just able to get some of them burned up with the rain and no wind. I’m trying to get this one pasture cleaned up so I can get some grass planted this spring.

[Lost10mm]

Do you mean how long do we wait with it while it burns, or how long do we wait to strike fire?

In either case, we aim for every winter, about when the forecast favors rain a week out. Then we have someone posted on fire watch for about 6-8 hours. After that, we just keep checking in on it.

[BTLowry]

If I can catch it just where it is starting to rain I will set one on fire.

Big piles like you are talking about that I will have to work (push stuff into center after it burns down) I like 2-3 days time

I was once told (don't know if it is true) that 3 days after piling green stuff was good because some kind of reaction is happening in the fresh cut wood and it will burn good
I know they piled stuff when they cleared ROW for widening road and burned it within a week and it burned good. Also was popping and shooting fist sized flaming chunks out into my woods and started a small brush fire

[easeup]

set 'em now while we have moisture. Your piles are dry they will burn good and quick.
I have seen developers bull doze one day and two days later light them off. all that green cedar is harder to keep going unless it is packed.

[Homer75]

I had a neighbor tell me to wait 2 years before burning. I was just curious if anyone felt the same. I don’t wait for aging, only for the weather. I was burning earlier in the year and had one jump to a pile that was less than a week old and burned that pile up completely, I didn’t even have to punch it to burn the whole thing up.

[easeup]

no way. I burn all the time....my favorite wait period is 3 weeks.

[flywise]

I’ll probably burn mine in feb or March on a day rain is forecast

[Tbar]

We burned a very large oak diameter/tall recently. Cut the trunk into 10'+- lengths and piled it up. Burned for 3 days. We turned it once or twice a day it burned down to nothing.

[bloodtrailer28]

I had a neighbor tell me to wait 2 years before burning. I was just curious if anyone felt the same. I don’t wait for aging, only for the weather. I was burning earlier in the year and had one jump to a pile that was less than a week old and burned that pile up completely, I didn’t even have to punch it to burn the whole thing up.

2 years?!

We have burned the same day as clearing just really depends on the weather and conditions

[PYBUCK]

Burn whenever the humidity is 75% or higher. You might watch out if you had " one jump to another pile and burn it up". Sounds like to me you burned when it was low humidity or windy or both. You might be liable for starting a wildfire that burns up thousands of acres and destroys homes and lives if you do that again.

[Bilbo]

It is usually a year or more for me. Heck, I have some that are almost two years now. I feel the weather has to be just right. Snow on the ground preferably. Usually when the weather is right we still have a burn ban in place.

[BrianL]

All times from the time I pile it to a year later. Older pile will burn quicker. One easy way is to tarp an area of the pile and then light the dry area right after a rain. It will dry the pile out as it burns.

[Gumbo Man]

All times from the time I pile it to a year later. Older pile will burn quicker. One easy way is to tarp an area of the pile and then light the dry area right after a rain. It will dry the pile out as it burns.

Great idea.

[Kossetx]

If I can catch it just where it is starting to rain I will set one on fire.

Big piles like you are talking about that I will have to work (push stuff into center after it burns down) I like 2-3 days time

I was once told (don't know if it is true) that 3 days after piling green stuff was good because some kind of reaction is happening in the fresh cut wood and it will burn good
I know they piled stuff when they cleared ROW for widening road and burned it within a week and it burned good. Also was popping and shooting fist sized flaming chunks out into my woods and started a small brush fire

I was told the same thing. That and 50 gallons of diesel did the job. I wait now.

[sqiggy]

2 years?!

We have burned the same day as clearing just really depends on the weather and conditions

I ain’t waiting for 2 years.
I also like burning same day. Just about all my stuff is yaupon. This stuff burns just as good as green. I have 2 big piles right now cause I got caught during the burn ban. Not caught burning, just caught piling it up while in a burn ban. When the ban lifted, I still had leaves on the trees and this stuff was dried out good. Didn’t want to catch the dying leaves on fire, so I’ve been waiting for all the leaves to fall. A pile of dried out yaupon will bring a flame 40 feet into the air!!!!