Burning Bark Dust Sparks Homeowner Concern

On the High Desert, thousands of homes and hundreds of acres use bark dust.

From a landscaping perspective, it can give you just the right curb appeal. But, with the right ingredients, it can also give you a headache — or just maybe, a fire.

“Bark dust fires can start from multiple things — a spark from your yard equipment, if it’s not kept and maintained well, cigarette butts if they are carelessly discarded,” Redmond Fire Marshal Traci Cooper said Tuesday.

Then there’s spontaneous combustion.

The hot sun, a little breeze and dry bark dust creates the perfect recipe to spark an open flame.

But local landscapers say they’ve had it sitting in huge piles — and have never seen even a flicker of smoke.

“You can see behind me. I’ve got it piled 30 feet high, and I’m sure they don’t do that around their houses. And I cannot get this to spontaneously combust — and it’s been there for 10 years,” said Wade Fagen, owner of Fagen Trees and Chips.

Fire officials say it’s all about location.

Piling layers upon layers of bark dust and giving it no breathing room only builds up the possibility for a fire — especially when it’s right next to a wooden structure.

“Once you start layering enough on that now, it’s getting in close proximity to the siding or the decking, building materials that will burn, now you’re creating a ladder-fuel situation,” Cooper said.

We may not be able to control the heat, but some say we can try to keep it from destroying a property

“If that bark ever did catch fire, it could climb and catch the rest of the deck on fire, so maybe pulling a little bit of that bark away from anything that’s wood, that’s small, that’s flammable, that could catch fire easily,” Fagen said.

What it all comes down to — homeowners need to do their homework before spreading that bark dust.

“Take a look at using another product up close to your residence, a non-combustible landscaping material that minimizes the risk,” such as rocks cinders, Cooper said.