Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 08/10/1989

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Development Director, there was a fire on the property. The prol~erty ownc: i~ nov, attemptin~ to disuse of thc damaged ~ees while ~in7 rc~istic a~u: ~ am~>t~m (~'. thal can bc spent r~oin~ so. In rcspons: ~,~ thc Ci'.,'s. :oncerns: F&R doc:. ~n~te unburned trees: thc proposed burn sites will m~,rc than :nee: } cA~:· n~inimum feet distance requiremem trom any othe: residenti:.: dwellings,. F&R's proposes consm~:~ two burnin~ pits approximately 40-60 fee~ h-~ ~ength and width. Berms wou~6 be cons~:zted ~ound l}:s pits to reduce fire contact with wind and prevent x, isil~iii~x' from roadways to a~'~id ~affic slrw,' downs by onlookers. The bem~s would :~' , be u:,cd to smother the fire if' i~ i~ecomes necess~v. In addition, a water tank will bt' pl:~ccd on site so watcr is available to put oul thc fire upon order or if anx' fire escapes from thc bumin~ site. It is estimated tha~ there ~e 170-250 truck loads of trees to be burned. Mr. Tom Sauter, the proposed burn contractor, has 15 years conmtctin~' experience and serves on thc Anoka Fire Department. Mr. Sauter estimates that thc ~ees c::n ~ bu:'n~ in 7 days. depen~in~ on weather conditions; burning would no: occur on windy days. Tom Sauter, proposed contractor for the burn project, was presenl and stated that he agrees with Fire Chief Hoeke's concerns and that there is a potential fire hazard: ::nd he is willing to address Mr. Hoeke's safety concerns and exercise extreme control and supervison during the burning. Mr. Sauter stated that exporting the material is too expensive and no chipping companies warn to chip trees that have been down and are full of sand. The u'ees in their current state are a fire hazard and the sooner the problem is approached, the sooner the problem will be eliminated. The plan is to burn slow, have water available and shin down burning v hen there are high wind conditions; if the bum permit is issued, extreme caution would be used. Councilmember Pearson inquired as to the plan for the living trees west of where the fire occurred. Mr. Haik replied that in the area to which Councilmember Pearson refers, there is a mixture of living and slightly burned trees; in the interest of efficiena~y, all the trees would be cleared out and then the property will be ready for development. Councilmember Peterson inquked as to how the smoke from the fire will be controlled. M.r. Haik replied that a hot and clean fire is anticipated because the pines are extremely dry. IX,Lr. Haik reiterated tha'~ to export the trees off the property is beyond F&R's economic means; chipping would require a significant number of manhours to down and trim standing trees; chipping contractors are also reluctant to bid on the job because the trees that are down are full of sand and it ruins the chipper blades. ix,Lt. Goodrich inquired if disposal of the trees a: the Anoka County Diseased Tree Disposal site has been researched. Mr. Haik replied that the County site only accepts diseased trees. M_r. Sauter stated that he also has been in contact with the Anoka County Diseased Tree Department and they do not have the space to burn such a large amount of:crees. Mr. Hartley noted that it has been proposed to burn 250 truck loads of trees in 7 days; this averages out to burning a truckload per hour between the two pits. Mr. Hartley inquired as to the kind of fire that would result from this rapid of a burn. City Council/June 27, 1989 Page 6 of 15