Firing outside the box

The Ratagama was under a foot of water. Ronnie has to use a sump pump to get the water out of the firing chamber. We started a fire outside of the firebox to slowly drive the moisture out of the kiln. This could be a Georgia version of an Aquagama. I'm convinced that steam helps in reduction and in the evening out of the kiln. Never have started with a soaking wet kiln before. We have 4 days to get to temperature so there is no hurry. The kiln has been going for over 12 hours and we are under 300F.
Tomorrow will see some activity in the firebox.
I spent the afternoon making lasagna and salad for the crew. A well fed crew is a happy crew. The youngsters are on the graveyard shift. God love them.