wow, Paula... glad you're ok & everything turned out well!

and yes, wet vegetative matter in a pile or enclosed space is bad bad news... this is why hay & stuff is dried before baling usually.  Ive seen even just the weeds in a field that accidently got bundled in with bales cause the combustion.

What happens is, as the stuff decomposes, it generates heat.  The heat has to go somewhere, and if it can't, it builds up - and builds up... until it ignites.  once it ignites, it takes no time for the flames to spread. 

this is why folks who compost, and are any good at it, remember to turn their compost every so often to let it "breathe".

wow... sorry this was a hard way to learn a little science fact =(

Rarer than a hairy egg and madder than a box of frogs....

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