Please, make sure your fires are out.

[Vonbrown]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/as...e’-in-nearby-towns/ar-BBvThOe?ocid=spartandhp
"...Forest law enforcement officers say they are seeing more dislocated people living off the land, often driven there by drug and alcohol addiction, mental health problems, lost jobs or scarce housing in costly mountain towns. And as officers deal with more emergency calls, drug overdoses, illegal fires and trash piles deep in the woods, tensions are boiling in places like Nederland that lie on the fringes of the United States’ forests and loosely patrolled public lands..."
ETA: content

 

[highdesertranger]

yes always make sure they are dead out. you need to be able to place your hand deep in the coal bed and feel no heat. highdesertranger

 

[cyndi]

It all comes down to *leave no trace* It's unfortunate that so many people, including those running big corporations, don't get that

 

[GotSmart]

The west is burning...

Where I grew up there are now two wildland fires a day.  

They just got control of an arson fire that burned four square miles and more than 300 buildings. 

Keep it clean, and use propane.

 

[ACagedTraveller]

The militant NIMBY citizens continue to wreak havoc on the homeless population through a series of knee jerk reactions. The cities push them out, the rural people do not want them, and the government tends to incarcerate the people. What other options do the people have in the current situation except to produce a campfire for warmth? I would encourage the principles of "Leave No Trace," but the outrage from the citizens could force the people to move into a new area. :dodgy: The people simply want to shove the problem around rather than create a long term solution.

 

[jimindenver]

I sleep better up there when there is a fire ban and have gotten quite use to the propane pit. It is certainly easier than hauling and cutting up firewood.

 

[USExplorer]

I carry a few gallon jugs refilled with water to put out my campfire before I leave. I also have a fire extinguisher in my car.

Some of the public land dwellers have serious mental issues, and as a society we have an obligation to care for them that we have not been meeting. Chasing them away is not the right thing to do.

Others are just careless slobs, and should be properly punished with community service and fines when appropriate. A few pieces of trash in a fire pit is one thing, piles of waste and careless campfire control is quite another.

 

[bigsallysmom]

In the Sacramento mountains of southern New Mexico the issue is not the homeless but the careless, inconsiderate, clueless folks who drive away from a smouldering fire. Our volunteer fire department gets called out regularly to put out still burning campfires. After holidays they also drive around to the most used places and check campfires.

Unfortunately, many people think that camping requires a fire even if they don't cook on it. Hogwash. Set out a solar lantern or two if you need light.

I'll also suggest this. Know how long it takes to burn down different diameter of logs. I've seen smouldering campfires with foot diameter logs in them. If you are going to be there for just overnight, don't stick big logs on it. And don't throw logs on the fire and go to sleep or leave not long afterwards.

 

[rvpopeye]

I have worked at many campgrounds on site cleaning after checkout.
It is AMAZING how many times I would get to a site and not only were the fires still burning but some had put all the wood they had leftover on the fire before leaving.....
And we couldn't be at all the sites right at checkout time either so some would have been burning unattended for a couple hours or more.
We finally decided to have one truck with a hose go to all the sites to extinguish before we went out to clean them out.

Lots of people have no clue or don't give a..................

 

[Canine]

I do like a nice campfire on a snowy night.Yellowstone is just a couple of miles away and there are fires burning all up and down the eastern horizon.The biggest has already burned about 25,000 acres.All were started by lightning.The wind is gusting to about 30 mph right now so that is going to cause more burning.Hope this doesn't turn into another 1988.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I think everyone should carry a fire extinguisher with them, ESPECIALLY if you have campfires. But campfires aside, it's as important as a spare tire and first aid kit. I keep one in the house and truck.

Every vehicle should have at a minimum:

Fire Extinguisher
Spare Tire and plug kit
Air Pump
Jumper Cables
First Aid Kit
Tow and/or snatch strap
Flashlight or Headlamp

 

[wayne49]

Fishlake NF has a sign "Don't Light it, unless you are prepared to Fight it." something like that. With icons for basic fire fighting tools.

 

[johnny b]

I'll be carrying two - 2.5gal 'Cold Fire' extinguishers ---
"Cold Fire agent is known for it's popular stance in the racing industry worldwide as well as in the fire rescue services.  It will suppress A, B, D, K class fires and cools metals to the touch quickly for rapid handling.  The agent is eco friendly, non toxic, non hazardous, SNAP and EPA listed and approved."

I will have a 5 lb. dry chem extinguisher (A, B, C) as well (required in the pits at my racing events).

Plus, my shower is made from an old 2.5 gal water extinguisher on which i installed a 25ft coil hose with garden sprayer head. (should be good for the occasional camp fire as well as cleaning the air con on the roof)

I figure since I'll have a couple jerry cans with spare pump gas for the van, 2--30lb propane tanks on the front of the trailer, and 2--5 gal cans of race gas for the kart, I should carry plenty of fire suppression. :idea:

 

[DrJean]

Keep a #10 size can of water to douse any wayward sparks. If you carry a fire extinguisher, make sure you've been taught how to use it properly (fire department can share this.) Have the right kind of extinguisher, and if needing to use it, point it at the base of the fire... where the flame began, not at the flames. Don't put water on a grease fire... especially don't dump water or throw water as it can splash onto you or splash the fire onto you.

Either dig a pit or raise the fire off the ground.... use a piece of tin even... don't build a fire bigger than you need. Once you start a fire, don't leave it unattended. If you camp alone, then have everything you need for being at the fire side, at the fire side.

Don't burn plastic, styrofoam and metal objects.

When putting a fire out, stir the coals or drag them off to the side for later use , and slowly sprinkle water by hand or light dousing from can to hand.... keep stirring until you have black muck... and you need to hold your hand firmly on the areas of former fire at least 10 seconds before you can say it's truly "out". Turn over all left over wood... often there's charring on the underside and will restart a fire on it's own. Douse with water till out...out.

If it's windy and you need a fire, make a wind-break and keep the fire small.

While I'm at it... be careful as to what clothing you wear when tending a fire. Long sleeves, floppy sleeves, scarves, fringes etc and long shirts that aren't tucked in and are comfy and might drape as you lean in... are no-nos. Be careful about metal wrist jewelry as it can heat up over time if you're close to the flame. Longer hair needs to be tied back.... or baseball cap (no floppy hats)...

Stay safe folks! Enjoy the flames.

 

[TrainChaser]

And don't build a campfire near a tree. Long after a campfire is out above ground, there can be an underground root fire smoldering for weeks or months. This is especially dangerous in forests.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Lots of people have no clue or don't give a..................

Unfortunately, I think there are a lot more of these than we realize and they don't realize it's them.

 

[bullfrog]

We had wind gusts here to 50 MPH and a guy asked me where he could find some fire wood. I told him the reason he couldn't find any was because it all burned after the last guy built a fire in wind like this, fool.