How hot you ask? Well, hot enough for your seemingly harmless mulch to spontaneously combust. Ouch.

A school playground in Arlington had just that very thing happen last week, and surveillance video showed that no one started the fire that melted the playground equipment causing $35,000 in damages. Ouch again.

Such combustion would occur only if poor quality material was used, said Mark Carlston, president and CEO of Forest Wood Fiber Products of Lake Elsinore, Calif. The company does not supply wood chips for Arlington schools.

Carlston said problems could occur if the wood fiber contained lumber such as plywood with flammable resins or glues, or if contained ground up tree trimmings or similar vegetation.

“If the material is made correctly, I would say (spontaneous combustion) would be almost impossible,” he said.

So the moral of the story is - if you live in Texas, in August, and its over 100 degrees outside, buy your kids quality mulch.

/me goes outside to rake the mulch