"It's time to cancel campfires"

[RoamerRV428]

and worse is embers that go high and float and drop a farther away start fires, not just the ones we can see around us so.....while good to have obviously for emergencies, fire embers can do farther away damage real fast.

Campfires. A bit biased cause I hate them mostly I am not a wood smoke lover at all, except on the rare occasion my kid INSISTED she have a fire and do S'mores but even when we tent camped before the kid, we used a small propane stove for any cooking. So to me, I say they are worth way more trouble then the 'comfort, fun, whatever' they give to others.

It's fire! Fire people! HAHA with the state of how much burns now and how much can be accidently started from the millions of 'campfires' around with all those out in the woods, yea to ban is not a bad idea...but again, I don't like them anyway so I swing cancel them all LOL

but alot of the fires are not campfires too, lightening is a key factor in setting off most of the massive damage out there in acres lost etc. so?

I gotta same I am on that fence on it all but alot of more private cg's say hell no on fire and alot of state parks etc are going more no fire pits etc so? I see the trend going to no campfires mostly for it all out there and I get it but it does suck for those who love them but what hasn't 'rules and society' taken from us that many don't want gone? A ton so just keep on watching how life changes and it is great for some and crappy for others I guess

 

[jacqueg]

Chiming in here on the side of banning. Yes, it's true that campfires are only one cause of wildfires, and not even the most important cause. OTOH - it's a drought folks, and the long-term trends are for further drying. Why voluntarily run the risk? No one NEEDS a campfire.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

While I am a big proponent of a forest wide fire suppression system, I wonder if requiring all camper folk to have an extinguisher would be easier than banning campfires? . . .
Is this already a regulation? It should be in my opinion.

I'm sure you would like to drive up to your campsite and see a white mess sprayed all over the fire ring.
Potassium Bicarbonate is very high on the pH scale: very alkaline.

Water is still the best and environmentally neutral extinguisher for class A fires (wood, paper, cloth, some plastics).
You should have enough water handy to fully extinguish any fire you build (cold to touch).  Dirt works also but doesn't remove the residual heat from the fire.

If you have a fire in National Forests you are supposed to have sufficient water and a shovel.

I only do campfires in fire rings in established campgrounds.  And small.

 

[john*thomas]

Chiming in here on the side of banning. Yes, it's true that campfires are only one cause of wildfires, and not even the most important cause. OTOH - it's a drought folks, and the long-term trends are for further drying. Why voluntarily run the risk? No one NEEDS a campfire.

 Not a big point but the drought is regional. We are getting plenty of rain. (WV) 
  
 Should campfires be banned in a targeted manner? There is a good argument for that.

 

[vgilbert]

The US population as a whole will not sacrifice, PERIOD! Our government preaches about climate change but the US military is the largest contributor. This subject is all talk and no action, action WILL NOT COME, lip service will go on and on but no meaningful action. Money, greed, and domination takes priority above all else within the US.

 

[RoamerRV428]

sorry J*T but think harmful that others burn wood not from the area bringing in disease etc from those woods and then think how many 'cut and maim' wood from trees just to burn and then think all those near ya with health issues that could benefit from no fire smoke but in the end there are ''''actually''' a ton of reasons why campfires are now mute vs. how great they were for others in the long past.

from the net on something so simple as 'to burn' is it good now? Campfires have been known to harm the habitats of animals who make their homes in trees. This is because even dead logs can be a habitat, and people often use them for their fires. Excessive wood gathering can also become too much for the environment to handle, as the wood may not regenerate fast enough ----------------so long run over it all? vs. I am in 'that area' that is ok? are ya? who knows truly nowadays? damage can't be seen today while ya have that fire for many other issues we 'as humans' don't care about

 

[vgilbert]

And I forgot to mention that I am headed East, the Western US has been fantastic to see but I miss my campfires......

 

[RoamerRV428]

Money, greed, and domination takes priority above all else within the US.------------agreed Vgi
but in the end we won't be here when it all goes down so I think alot of humans are 'in the life moment' and don't give a flyin' S about future gens 'cause we won't be here' LOL and I get it but??? as a species we are walking straight toward demise but what timeline? millions of years or sooner or even closer by our own hands to who knows??n But good chance I won't see it, my kid will be ok but after that....her kids and more are in a whole 'new world' I won't know and deal with

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 . . . Should campfires be banned in a targeted manner? There is a good argument for that.

They currently are.  Each National Forest issues fire bans in stages depending on conditions.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

We have forest fires because we extinguish forest fires.  Natural forest fires are good for forests, whether it be for seed-spreading or tree thinning so the forest doesn't become too dense.  When we don't let nature take its course, brush builds up, forest fires have way more fuel than they would naturally and they become 100 times the danger they would normally be.  Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't fight SOME fires, particularly those near population centers, but most of the time we should let nature take its course.  Fire is a part of life and the longer we delay a natural burning of the forest, the more dangerous it becomes when it finally happens, and it WILL happen, it's only a matter of time.  Natural forest fires are good for forests, whether it will be for seed-spreading or tree thinning so the forest doesn't become too dense, so if a wildfire were to happen the following year it will be much more intense and more devastating. It would spread faster and burn hotter.  Letting  them burn naturally rather than putting them out is a much better alternative than having an extremely destructive fire a few years later.

 

[Cammalu]

And I forgot to mention that I am headed East, the Western US has been fantastic to see but I miss my campfires......

Where to?

 

[jacqueg]

We have forest fires because we extinguish forest fires.  Natural forest fires are good for forests, whether it be for seed-spreading or tree thinning so the forest doesn't become too dense.  When we don't let nature take its course, brush builds up, forest fires have way more fuel than they would naturally and they become 100 times the danger they would normally be.  Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't fight SOME fires, particularly those near population centers, but most of the time we should let nature take its course.  Fire is a part of life and the longer we delay a natural burning of the forest, the more dangerous it becomes when it finally happens, and it WILL happen, it's only a matter of time.  Natural forest fires are good for forests, whether it will be for seed-spreading or tree thinning so the forest doesn't become too dense, so if a wildfire were to happen the following year it will be much more intense and more devastating. It would spread faster and burn hotter.  Letting  them burn naturally rather than putting them out is a much better alternative than having an extremely destructive fire a few years later.

All true. But has nothing to do with campfires. Controlled burning is just that. Unless you want to do an environmental review before every campfire you light? Frankly, I can't see many folks lining up to do that!

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Well, it seems the finger is being pointed at campers and their tiny little fires when the real problem is government and their ineptitude.

 

[vgilbert]

Where to?

Have family in Indiana, plan on spending time in October before heading back south to GA/FL

 

[Cammalu]

I’m on your route if you want to stop. Have a nice camping area on the property. In Kentucky.

 

[vgilbert]

I’m on your route if you want to stop. Have a nice camping area on the property. In Kentucky.

I will try to remember 
Thanks!!

 

[Markw]

First off...imo climate change is a false panic. The earth has been doing what it's been doing regarding the climate (be that heating or cooling) for billions of years. To believe that in less than 200 years we have had that much of an effect on it is just fear talking.

As for campfires, people just need to be responsible about it. Telling everyone they can't have a campfire because a few people can't be responsible about it is sort of like the entire class having to skip recess because two students didn't turn in their homework.

 

[MotorVation]

Wow, entire towns are burning down, people are losing everything they own to wildfires and a few self important jerks are crying because they can't roast their weenies over a campfire. Boo hoo

 

[crofter]

Wow, entire towns are burning down, people are losing everything they own to wildfires...

So true, I love being in the trees but not now!! Agree that the forest fire bans are helpful against human caused fires.

One thing that has been building for years is the beetle kill trees- a small insect that has become a widespread tree killer. Combine all those dry dead trees with some lightning strikes from storms and you have this kind of firestorm.

I was noticing beetle kill trees in the 1990s and at the time FS wanted to limit the cleanup & cutting for firewood because they thought the beetles were spread by hauling firewood. But actually the beetles are spread on their own locomotion, and each beetle wants their own tree to eat so is why they spread far & wide.
-crofter

https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/mtn_pine_beetle_background.htm

 

[MotorVation]

When I was camped outside of Flagstaff, for the first time ever, a ranger pulled into my site. She told me she stopped because I was smoking a cigarette and that it was illegal but it's in small print on the sign on the way in. She was right and I felt like an idiot because there was a lot of brush on the ground. I was being careful but it was actually pretty stupid. It's ok to smoke inside your rig in that forest.

She told me with a wink and nod that if I'm going to smoke outside, to make sure I do it in a spot where all the brush is cleared