@pais alto I bet you've seen some extraordinary things.
@SkiNurse @tromano We don't have specific Wildfire Mitigation here in Reno, but homes in close areas around us have significant fire mitigation with stiff fines if you don't take care of your trees and debris.
@Jasmine spends countless hours raking pine needles, pine cones and cleaning tree debris every year. Still, all it takes is one person doing something careless and everything goes up in flames.
FWIW, there is an ongoing debate in our neighborhood about fire pits.
We invested in a pretty nice gas fire pit last fall and really enjoy it, but there are neighbors who want their real wood fire pit, and have fought for the right to be able to continue to burn wood in their back yard.
My biggest issues with burning real wood in an area like this are:
- Real wildfire danger
- When you're hanging out around a fire pit, you're usually drinking, which is when carelessness can (and often does) occur
- Even the most careful wood burners can't control random sparks
I moved to Reno in the fall of 2010, which was followed by a huge snow year. When I was cleaning up yard debris in the spring, I wanted to get a real fire pit and just burn the debris, like I had done for years and years in Michigan. All I had seen in Reno was a rainy fall and huge snowy winter so I didn't see what the big deal was. Phil was adamant that we take the debris to the yard waste disposal area.
Within a couple months this area was like a tinder box and I saw exactly what a huge snowy winter looks like in high desert after a couple months of dry heat.
Nothing like Northern Michigan.