Deep South Firewood

john in la · Dec 16, 2015

We have very little use for firewood when it comes to heating our home or shop other than the romantic small fire some may have every now and then.

But we do have a group of people that cut many cords of firewood.
They use it to build bonfires on the Mississippi River Levees.
These bon fires are lit on Christmas Eve to light the way for P?re Noel (Santa Claus)as he brings gifts to all the kids on the bayou.
While most are built in a teepee shape some of these groups get very extravagant with their designs.
Miniature Plantation homes; Fire trucks; and Boats have been built out of logs just to be set on fire.
It is no where as big as it use to be when I was a kid but it still goes on today.
I am really kind of surprised to see it still happening today with all the permit and insurance loops they have to jump threw now.
A few pictures I took while driving down River Road today along the Mississippi river.

And a link to some internet pictures of the bonfires.
bonfires on the levee

Andy Martin · Dec 16, 2015

Nice tradition!

Russ from MN · Dec 16, 2015

Sounds like a waste of firewood and unnecessary air pollution!

Steve@Advance · Dec 16, 2015

Yes, I am surprised it's still going on!

Reminds me of the Texas A&M bonfire that collapsed and killed several students a few years ago. That stopped completely for several years until the lawsuits were settled. Now it's scaled down, better organized.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggie_Bonfire

JerryS · Dec 16, 2015

Wow, John! I've lived in Louisiana most of my life; I'd heard of the levee bonfires, but I had no idea they were so creative and artistic. Cool!

tomturkey · Dec 16, 2015

Probably not nearly as much as the Minnesotans that heat their homes with wood fires or all those snowmachines running around and all those ice augers cutting holes in the ice. And what about all those campfires on the shores of those 10,000 lakes. Just saying, every area makes "pollution of some kind". gobble

tomturkey · Dec 16, 2015

I agree!!!! gobble

rrman61 · Dec 17, 2015

All the rain we've been getting they won't have to worry about catching anything else on fire.Supposed to be warm though;plenty of mosquitos!

Russ from MN · Dec 17, 2015

We heat our home with a very efficient wood stove that has very low emissions, and that heat keeps us warm! One of these bonfire piles would heat our home for a couple of months, and when we are not home it's heated with natural gas. We do have a small bonfire along the lakeshore about 3 times a year, shame on us!

CumminsMan · Dec 17, 2015

Interesting, what a cool tradition!

Leroy · Dec 17, 2015

Just about all those things you mentioned, sno machines excluded, provide something for a purpose that is valid. Those bonfires do not do any of that, they are stupid.

Bret4207 · Dec 17, 2015

If people were truly worried about their "carbon foot print" they wouldn't be using electricity, gasoline, diesel, plastics, modern medicines/fibers/paper goods, eating food that come from more than a few miles away, using anything made of metals, or using a computer, etc. Pointing the finger at people who have a bonfire or heat with wood while buying solar panels using rare earth minerals mined in China or while eating "organic" foods grown in South America on lands that used to be "rain forest" and are transported thousands of miles with fossil fuels is hypocrisy at it's finest. I'll give credence to such folks when they start raising their own food, sheep for wool, riding a horse or walking and cutting themselves off from all the other items they use that have a huge "footprint".

Dan Richardson · Dec 17, 2015

Man, you need a tree to hug quick. How about that pine box you're going to be buried in?

oldsarge · Dec 17, 2015

You're all correct and at the same time you're all full of it!!!! Happy Winter festival

2underage · Dec 17, 2015

I am with you Bret and I would like to see those fires of Christmas sometime. I bet they keep the brush cleaned up on those levies.

john in la · Dec 17, 2015

"One of these bonfire piles would heat our home for a couple of months"

You better look at those piles again.
The whole inside is stacks of wood.
At over 30 feet tall that's likely more wood than you burn all year on a very cold year.

But then again we do things different in the deep south.
Be burn 1000's of acres of sugar cane fields every year.
We have bon fires at Christmas
We have bars that are open 24/7
Heck we even take off work for Mardi Gras
But the one thing we do most is have fun.
Life is to short to be a stick in the mud.

john in la · Dec 17, 2015

rrman61

I saw lots of them wrapped in shrink wrap to keep them dry.

john in la · Dec 17, 2015

Yes Jerry they are a sight to see.
I like to ride past and look at the builds.
I will watch the burning on TV.
To many people for me.
The ride down river road on Christmas eve is measured in hours per mile.

Ultradog MN · Dec 17, 2015

That's great.
It would be fun to see in person.
Burn baby burn!

Ultradog MN · Dec 17, 2015

Ps,
Those same people who cry about this are the same ones who would have no qualms about jumping onto a plane to go to Vegas or to the west coast to see a new grand child.
I wonder what the carbon footprint for a couple who flys round trip from MSP to LAX would be.
More than one of those stacks of wood?

L.Fure · Dec 17, 2015

I think it's a neat tradition. There's nothing like a good old bon fire to create a little fun. I have a pit where I throw tree trimmings, and used lumber in. When it gets full I invite a few friends out and we set it on fire. The reason I make a pit for this is the old lumber I throw in it. A lot of it is full of nails. By burning it in a hole I don't have to worry about getting a nail in a tire.

Part Time Pete · Dec 17, 2015

Very cool - the other thing you folks down south have more of than us northerners, is freedom...

Ultradog MN · Dec 17, 2015

Or common sense?

Traditional Farmer · Dec 17, 2015

You folks should be skinning Coons and Possoms make big heavy coats out of the fur and then you wouldn't need any heat at all.Might help reduce Global Warming a .000000000000001
degree over the next 200 years.

dr sportster · Dec 17, 2015

Trivia; What structure in the United States is taller and longer than the Great Wall of China? You are looking at it.

Married2Allis · Dec 17, 2015

(quoted from post at 07:47:52 12/17/15) You're all correct and at the same time you're all full of it!!!!

FLOLDFORD · Dec 17, 2015

That's most of the reasons I love Louisiana. That and the fishing

billyar · Dec 17, 2015

That's neat thanks John MERRY CHRISTMAS

Bret4207 · Dec 18, 2015

(quoted from post at 12:11:50 12/17/15) "One of these bonfire piles would heat our home for a couple of months"

You better look at those piles again.
The whole inside is stacks of wood.
[b:a72da9880d]At over 30 feet tall that's likely more wood than you burn all year on a very cold year.[/b:a72da9880d]

You need to spend a few years living where winter starts in late September/early October and sort of wears off in mid May, where daytime highs are well below 0F. I lived in Meridian Miss for a while. Completely different world.

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