RPG burn II

Rose verbena is greening on the glades

Last fall we attempted to burn the glades with little success- I think I remember the winds being in that dreaded state of Light and Variable and a lack of fuel on the ground. Well, if it doesn't burn the first time, what do you do!!??

Burn it again!

Though I was at Blue River Glades until ~1pm, I was able to join Larry and the crew for an hour at the end. He had a big smile on his face and everything was black. He was just doing touch-ups when I arrived. I followed him around for a while.

I asked about the fire dept. and Larry replied that they had not shown. I guess I jinxed that. A fire truck rolled up within a matter of minutes- no lights or sirens. The fire dpt. is required to respond to every call, but were well aware of what we were doing. Larry edged the bluff-igniting a few patches of Wild oats along his way. The oats were deafening! He walked left a trail of fire through the largest patch of oats-this one much denser than the others. The flames were several feet high and the heat hit my face from 25 ft. I had to turn away.

Soon after, Larry dismissed the majority of the volunteers. What was left to do- a little touchup and making sure that nothing was burning that shouldn't be -he could do with the few that stayed with him. Bill, who was appointed to babysit, Brian and Larry finished it off.
I heard several comments about how this went even better than the fall burn and even Larry acknowledged that it had surpassed expectations- a rare occurrence!