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You probably already heard of the fires in a park up toward the Santiam pass.
WA state has had issues too. Both probably due to human caused ignitions.
WA is already burning and that could mean another smoky summer
For the past three weeks I have been burning slash piles. Last weekend I burned a dozen or more and they are still burning now after a week of rain (several inches worth). Not open flame, but under the ash piles there are coals, hot coals.
What comes off those piles is mostly steam now, but some smoke, especially when the wind picks up. I keep an eye on them and pray for more rain. It isn't easy to get to them and douse them so I am mostly relying on the rain, which is helping a lot, and the fact that the area around the piles is now very wet.
When I started burning the second weekend, everything was very wet and we had no problems with the fires spreading. But on the third day, last Sunday, we lit one last pile and I kept a close eye on it as everything was drying out due to the warm sunny weather - the wind picked up and embers caught a rotten stump on fire 30 feet away from the pile. I put it out immediately and kept an close eye on everything for the next 24 hours.
The piles burn down quickly - 8 to 12 hours to burn down to mostly ashes but still some open flame for 24-36 hours on the larger piles. Last year I burned one large pile in September and it was just too dry - I spent a week putting that fire out, pouring water on it and stirring the ashes (about 40 feet wide) - it spread a number of times during the first few days, especially the first day. One rotten stump 40 feet away, I had to put out just about every day as it kept catching fire. That pile didn't really extinguish until it rained about a week later.
We had heavy equipment to deal with the piles this year and we started with wet conditions; an excavator and a large skid steer with a grapple bucket. We cleared an area around each pile to bare ground. But towards the end it was just too dry.
I was checking on the piles every hour or so after they burned down and got very little sleep until Tuesday.
It was supposed to rain Monday but it didn't until Tuesday and then I started relax a bit. Today - a week later, they are still steaming a lot and smoking a little. Had an inch of rain last night. Supposed to get more rain in a couple of hours. More rain off and on the rest of the week.
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My point is, that it doesn't take much for any fire of any size to get out of control.
Do not shoot into trees, including stumps, especially dead rotten stumps or logs which catch fire easily.
Do not start campfires unless you are in an emergency situation and need to keep warm.
WA state has had issues too. Both probably due to human caused ignitions.
WA is already burning and that could mean another smoky summer
For the past three weeks I have been burning slash piles. Last weekend I burned a dozen or more and they are still burning now after a week of rain (several inches worth). Not open flame, but under the ash piles there are coals, hot coals.
What comes off those piles is mostly steam now, but some smoke, especially when the wind picks up. I keep an eye on them and pray for more rain. It isn't easy to get to them and douse them so I am mostly relying on the rain, which is helping a lot, and the fact that the area around the piles is now very wet.
When I started burning the second weekend, everything was very wet and we had no problems with the fires spreading. But on the third day, last Sunday, we lit one last pile and I kept a close eye on it as everything was drying out due to the warm sunny weather - the wind picked up and embers caught a rotten stump on fire 30 feet away from the pile. I put it out immediately and kept an close eye on everything for the next 24 hours.
The piles burn down quickly - 8 to 12 hours to burn down to mostly ashes but still some open flame for 24-36 hours on the larger piles. Last year I burned one large pile in September and it was just too dry - I spent a week putting that fire out, pouring water on it and stirring the ashes (about 40 feet wide) - it spread a number of times during the first few days, especially the first day. One rotten stump 40 feet away, I had to put out just about every day as it kept catching fire. That pile didn't really extinguish until it rained about a week later.
We had heavy equipment to deal with the piles this year and we started with wet conditions; an excavator and a large skid steer with a grapple bucket. We cleared an area around each pile to bare ground. But towards the end it was just too dry.
I was checking on the piles every hour or so after they burned down and got very little sleep until Tuesday.
It was supposed to rain Monday but it didn't until Tuesday and then I started relax a bit. Today - a week later, they are still steaming a lot and smoking a little. Had an inch of rain last night. Supposed to get more rain in a couple of hours. More rain off and on the rest of the week.
---
My point is, that it doesn't take much for any fire of any size to get out of control.
Do not shoot into trees, including stumps, especially dead rotten stumps or logs which catch fire easily.
Do not start campfires unless you are in an emergency situation and need to keep warm.
