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How big does a mulch pile need to be?

mulch pile.jpgIn Helotes, San Antonio Texas (a mere drive southwest of Austin) is a fire that has been burning since almost Christmas and continues to burn. The cause of this month-long fire - a mulch pile!

Measuring 80 ft high (24m) and 800 ft wide (240m) - the size of five Olympic swimming pools - this mulch monstrosity has been pouring out smoke since Dec 26. Residents have been displaced from their homes and billeted at local accommodation outlets throughout the city.

Even after a specialised firefighting team were brought in to extinguish the fire - costing more than $1.7m - it appears that the fire won't be brought under control for at least another month. That's one very hot mulch pile.

It's tragic that this problem even occurred but it highlights how hot organic matter can become once bacteria begin to do their work. Gardeners are always talking about how hot the centre of the pile needs to be in order to kill any wayward seeds but this story borders on ridiculousness.





Posted by Stuart on January 31, 2007 4:28 AM | | Check to Subscribe to this Comment:


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There are a lot of stories about the fire on TV and on the Internet.

According to website for Austin cable TV 8, the mulch pile has been there for a decade. A site called Dig Deeper Texas said the pile was 3 times the size allowed by the permit - three times!

Another story said that the "giant mulch pile comes from trees cut down to make room for new housing developments near Helotes (pop. 6,200), northwest of fast-growing San Antonio.

For 14 years the pile has been growing "bigger and bigger and bigger, climbing higher into the sky,"

It's a pretty terrible situation all right, but someone with a wacky sense of humor set up a MySpace account for the mulch fire, which is described as " single, male, a Capricorn, and loves the movie "Backdraft".

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Posted by: Annie in Austin | January 31, 2007 6:06 AM

14 years!! That's shameful isn't it!

How could a local government allow this to happen especially over that period of time?

Thanks for sharing Annie.

Posted by: Stuart | January 31, 2007 10:07 AM

My oldest son used to work for the local Health Center as a grounds maintenance worker and even there they had reports of mulch smoking. They had to go out and rake the piles to cool them off.

Posted by: Kathy | February 6, 2007 7:42 PM

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