Cassi Creek: We put
flame to debris yesterday at 1200. One
or both of us spent the next four hours watching and containing the burn. The initial hour was uneventful. By hour two there was an up-valley breeze
developing. This is a common microclimate
event that is common to all mountainous areas.
At first, it added air to the section of the pile already burning,
increasing the burn rate and demanding greater attention to the up-valley side
of the fire. As that side consumed its
fuel, the flames worked back into the pile and ignited the down-valley, up-wind
section of the debris.
By 1600, most
of the pile was burned or was nearly consumed.
At that point, I began to feel rain.
Rather than wait to get drenched I brought the hose into play and extinguished
the remaining fuel. It took about 15
minutes with water and a rake to cool and extinguish the remaining embers. Burn # 1 safely completed.
In addition
to the burn, Gloria hauled out about 150 pounds of non-combustible debris. Our county trashcan is nearly full and will
be completely filled by Thursday AM. Both
of us are feeling a bit beaten up today.
By Tuesday, I should be ready to start preparing for burn #2.
We have two large piles and one smaller pile of debris that
must still be moved and burned. Next
week is the target for burn #2.
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