Laser stops burning after extended uses

The title says it all.
I have used it quite a few times for extended uses. It always worked fine.
Yesterday I was trying to burn through 3mm wood. It took many passes but than again I never went above 55%. I finally finished and then went on to engrave the rest.
The laser was on. It was set to 118.1 speed and 55% power but yet it burned nothing.
Had to shut it off. Woke up this morning to burn a simple letter. Which only took seconds.
It did just fine.
Which tells me it stopped burning after extended (about 5 hours) use yesterday.
Anyone know why it would do that?