Sure, you can have grasses build up, but a couple years of grass growth isn't going to lead to crown fires destroying the entire forest. It'll rip along the gr

Sure, you can have grasses build up, but a couple years of grass growth isn't going to lead to crown fires destroying the entire forest. It'll rip along the ground, kill the weak trees, clear the ground, etc. Grass fires also don't tend to toss much in the way of firebrands - it's direct flame spread along the ground, and that's a lot easier to block/protect a property from than the flying ember variety of ignition sources. I keep a 15-20' bare dirt firebreak around our property because the hill burns every few years. A grass fire isn't going to cross that, even in the wind. If it does, it's in a few spots that are easy to keep up with - it's not a large flame front. I do keep the discs on the tractor now, though, all summer unless I'm actively using something else. Much as I hate "start, pin the governor wide open, roll" style startups on the tractor, I'll do it if there's a fire and I can go get ahead of the fire line or extinguish chunks of it. We also keep a pickup around the hill with a couple hundred gallons of water and a fire pump in the back, for similar reasons. Local fire service is good, but it's better to be able to deter and redirect things on your own - and against burning grass, you can easily do that.