Slash and burn

Pine Haven burned the slash pile south of the maintenance shop Sunday with five firemen on site to ensure a clean and safe burn of the approximately 14-foot high, 25-30-foot wide and nearly 60-foot long mound. The blaze was set at 9:15 a.m. and, after the flames settled, the pile continued to smolder through Tuesday. Pine Haven Assistant Volunteer Fire Chief Don Lancaster said of the entire endeavor, "We got a nice clean burn and the pile was burned down to where there was mostly just ash left by noon [Monday]."

The fire crew flattened the mound out to find only a few smoldering spots that...