I have an empty lot with a tree line that is going to be too close to the home I intend to build on it. I hired a landscape contractor to clear the woods back about 40ft on the property but to avoid the added price of renting a chipper and a bobcat he suggested that he could just leave it in piles for me to burn.
Luckily there are only a few trees over 6 inches in diameter at the trunk, most of it is brush, saplings and smaller trees, however 4,000sq ft of cleared woods is still going to make for some rather big piles to burn!
I already called my local fire department to ask for permission and they said I don't need a burning permit, just to call them when I know a date for when I will burn so they can mark it on their books that there is a controlled burn at that location.
They didn't really tell me what defines a "controlled burn" however, and I certainly don't want to pay the landscaper $60/hr to tend an enormous fire.
My question is, how can I safely burn these brush and sapling piles assuming that I do not have a water source to tap for a hose if it gets out of control? Is there a safe way to do this to ensure that the grass surrounding the fire won't catch?