Razorhog,
That's the plan for phase II. The original concept for the pool was 4' of fire, but the kids voted for MORE FIRE, so we are going with 6'.
Burn, baby, burn.
I do have a bit of slope to my yard to contend with that may force me to build another minor-retaining wall. We shall see. Right now I just want to see them start digging. I'm more than a little displeased with how my HOA has handled everything -- but I hear from my neighbor's that our HOA is notoriously difficult to deal with. I've lived in the subdivision for over 10 years, but this is my first request for exterior improvement.