Slash Pile Burning & Permits. Slash piles should be made so that you can keep them under control and monitored so they dont get out of hand like this one. 1) Make sure you get a permit & follow the permit rules. 2) Keep your piles in open areas and away from other standing trees and buildings. A small slash pile is a brush pile constructed by hand, usually no larger than 4 to 5 feet in height, and 6 feet in diameter. These “hand piles” are a very common sight to see in the Black Hills and comprise 95% of the temporary burning permits issued. 3) A large slash pile is a mechanically constructed pile that is associated with a commercial logging sale or land development activity. These piles can only be lit under certain conditions, given that these piles can loft hot firebrands for a half-mile or more and smolder for weeks after lit. It is important for fire prevention purposes that a piece of heavy machinery, such as bulldozer, skid-steer loader or tractor is a available to work these large piles as they burn down. 4) A broadcast burn is defined as fire that is allowed to burn freely through the grass, underbrush and timber; this is generally known as a “controlled burn.” Broadcast burns require a written burn plan to be on file and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture before conducting such burns on private land in the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District. 5) Look for days that will see a continuous snow cover and cold temperatures that will hold the snow cover, so a pile can burn throughout the day and night. County Conditions will be observed and updated through the weekend to allow users to get permits as conditions change. 6) Chinook winds are warm down-slope winds that occur anytime of the year, but especially in the winter. They occur on the lee or east side of the Black Hills and Rocky Mountains. They will be so warm as to melt snow in the middle of the night, and bring what once was thought as a cold slash pile, back to life, fanning it into a forest fire. Make sure your fire is out! 7) What area of South Dakota does the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District cover? The area covered is identified in South Dakota Codified Law SDCL 34-35-15. Generally, this covers the portion that is south and west of Interstate 90 from the Wyoming state line to exit 61, west of Elk Vale Road from exit 61 to its intersection with Highway 79, west of Highway 79/385 from Elk Vale Road to the Cheyenne River, and north of the Cheyenne River from Highway 385 back to the Wyoming state line. Incorporated towns and municipalities within this area are not part of the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District. These towns would include: Springs, Pringle, Custer, Hermosa, Hill City, Keystone, Summerset, Piedmont, Sturgis, Whitewood, Spearfish, Deadwood, Central City and Lead. If you want to conduct open burning in those towns or cities, you would need to contact the local city officials. BLACK HILLS PROFESSIONAL HOME INSPECTIONS Can monitor the piles after they have been put out to make sure they dont flare back up and turn into a out of control fire, that may cost you a lot of money if the fire department shows up or catches you neighbors home or property on fire! Thermal Imaging can find potential hot spots that can not be seen with the naked eye. Make sure you get the hot spots out. Be Safe. I can pin point the hot spots that may need more attention. Better to be safe than sorry! CALL TODAY! 209-6766 #wildfires #slashpiles #blackhills #firepermits
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 13:00:21 +0000