Wildfires Can Happen Anywhere
Fire is on my mind given the events from Boulder County a few weeks ago, so I wanted to take a minute and talk about a very important aspect of any camping trip: fire safety.
In case you missed it, a fast moving wildfire moved through the towns of Superior and Louisville, CO destroying 1,000 homes. Unusually high winds, gusting up to 115 mph sparked the blaze by downing power lines then fanned the flames throughout the day. At one point, the Boulder OEM tweeted to just evacuate. The fire would have to burn through. There was no stopping it.
The fire scorched a heavily populated area at the base of the foothills where the primary fuels were native grasses. There were no forests, no pine beetle kill, nor downed trees fueling the fire. It was wind and dry grass. And still it will go down as Colorado’s most destructive wildfire. Luckily no one was killed. But still, this isn’t exactly a place you’d expect to be evacuated due to an encroaching wildfire. Especially not in December. It burned down shopping centers, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, and was a sobering reminder that fires happen in the West with increasing frequency due to ongoing historic drought. In this post, I’ll outline some some fire safety precautions, resources, and tips to keep you, the forest, and the surrounding communities safe on your next camping trip.
Know Before You Go
Check the Weather
First things first. Check the weather and fire conditions before you go. There a number of different weather apps and services to use for basic weather reporting and alerts (AccuWeather, Weather Underground, Weather.com, Windy.com). Thunderstorms and Red Flag warnings are cause for concern. The latter are actually meant to alert land managers to unfavorable conditions for proscribed burns. But they serve a useful purpose for the public too: red flag warnings mean fire danger is high, for proscribed burns and campfires alike. If you feel like getting more advanced you can check drought maps, historical precipitation, and snow pack and stream levels to see if the area you’re entering has been getting moisture.
Understand Fire Risk
The Fire, Weather, & Avalanche Center is an awesome resource meant to support back country users and back country recreation by providing real time data and information about weather, fire, drought, and fire conditions. It provides awesome information about road conditions and avalanche danger as well, but just for fire and weather alone its pretty impressive. It shows you lightning strikes in the last 1-24 hours, active fires, new fires, fire perimeters (especially handy), weather stations (wind, temp, and humidity), plus active weather alerts, drought conditions, and wildfire potential. This is truly a great resource for anyone heading into the backcountry.
Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires
Finally, if you forgot to check any of the above before leaving, look our for Smokey the Bear as you near your destination. He can still be seen along roadsides all throughout the US, alerting drivers to fire danger in the area. Smokey Zone, the company that makes these signs, is still the largest fire danger sign manufacturer for the USFS, Fire Departments, BLM, and BIA, so chances are you’ll see them as you enter or approach any publicly managed land. These are usually up to date, though I’m not sure who adjusts them or how frequently. They aren’t as detailed as the other resources you can use, but they’re still important to pay attention to.
Ok, you’ve checked the weather before heading out and you’ve seen that the area is experiencing a modest amount of drought. Now you need to check for fire restrictions. Understanding these (and basic fire safety) are the most important part of this whole exercise. The best resources for finding up to date information about fire restrictions are county websites or local ranger districts. County websites across the country will pretty prominently list any active fire restrictions, especially in Western states. Usually they come in stages: stage 1, 2, and 3. 1 being the lest restrictive and 3 being an outright ban on entering an area due to fire danger. Under stage 2 restrictions you’re not allowed to use machinery (even vehicles) with 10 ft of dry fuels.
Please adhere to these restrictions. Fires start quickly, and often by accident. One of Colorado’s largest fires was started by a Forest Service employee who lit a fire in an established fire ring to burn a letter from her estranged husband. The fire quickly got away from her and ultimately burned 138,000 acres, killed 6 people, and took $238 million dollars to extinguish.
Wood Burning Alternatives
I understand that having a campfire is, for many, a quintessential part of the camping experience. Luckily, there are products that can help make campfires safer in dry conditions. For example, we use the Outland Firebowl, a portable propane fire pit that doesn’t smoke or spark. We use it even when wood burning fires are allowed because it is safer than wood burning fires (especially with kids). And no wood smoke means no smoke smell clinging to you and everything you own for days. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to wake up on a multi-day camping trip and to not reek of wood smoke. Trust me, being able to enjoy a multi day trip without the congestion and smoke smell from burning wood make the whole trip more enjoyable.
Fire Safety for Kids
As kids, we used to love ‘roasting sticks’ in the fire. We would find long, decently thick branches, trim all the smaller pieces off and hold one end in the fire like we were fishing for flame. The goal was to leave it in the fire long enough for the stick to catch. Then we’d bring it out, blow on it to extinguish it and make designs in the air with the smoke. It was a camping highlight for many years, until one kid took the glowing end of a stick to the face, catching him just below the eye. It was only for a moment–and he was ultimately fine, save for a scare and a red mark–but our parents put an end to roasting sticks after that.
Consistency is key. Constantly remind children that fires are dangerous.
Maintain physical contact. Hold hands, sit close, walk them to and from their seat around the fire. Never give young children free reign near an open flame.
The rules change once a fire is lit. No running or rough housing of any kind. No walking between the fire and camp chairs. No throwing things in the fire.
Use Extendable Marshmallow Sticks. These are great. They extend up to 42″, which puts more distance between kids and fire while still allowing them to participate in a fun camping tradition. They don’t make roasting marshmallows completely safe, so always keep a close eye on little ones.
Don’t use fires for warmth. Use them for atmosphere or something to gather around and talk, tell stories or jokes. Don’t use them as something to crowd around for warmth. Instead, dress appropriately and use outdoor blankets to keep you warm, like those from Rumpl.
Limit time by the fire. Try to light them a little later than you normally would to reduce the amount of time spent by them and reduce the opportunity for accidents.
Keep lighters and matches out of reach. This is especially important in the outdoors. Keep matches and lighters safe and out of reach for kids at all times.
Don’t touch the fire pit or fire ring. Whatever you’ve built your fire in, it will be hot to the touch. Even a stacked stone fire pit may get hot enough to burn little hands. Don’t let kids touch, sit on, or lean against them.
Be careful with your feet. Watch your feet as people move around the fire. You don’t want to accidentally trip someone or be tripped near the flames. Also be careful when trying to warm your feet. I’ve seen people prop their feet on the edge of the fir pit for warmth and accidentally burn their shoe laces or melt their soles.
Bring plenty of water, a fire extinguisher, and a fire blanket just in case things get out of hand.
How to Extinguish a Camp Fire
If you can’t bring yourself to camp without a wood fire, you’ll need to make sure you put them out properly. The first step to extinguishing a fire is to make sure it doesn’t get out of control in the first place. See my full post for tips on Building, Maintaining, and Extinguishing Campfires. Here a few general rules to keep in mind when building a campfire in the woods:
Only build camp fires inside a metal ring or stone pit. Make sure the location of your fire is at least 10 feet from trees, overhead branches and dry fuels like grass (Smokeybear.com).
Keep the fire burning low. Don’t build a huge bonfire in the woods that sends flames 6 ft high and sparks even higher.
Never add an accelerant like gasoline to a fire. It will blow up.
Avoid throwing any foreign objects in the fire, like paper, leaves, or pinecones. Pinecones tend to act like little missiles and pop out of the fire when they get hot enough.
Never leave a fire unattended.
If high winds move in, put your fire out.
Make sure to extinguish it before going to bed or before leaving your site. Bring plenty of water to use for this. Pour water on it and spread the coals with a stick or shovel to properly extinguish.
Keep a fire blanket and fire extinguisher near by. Just in case.
No matter where you camp or safe conditions seem to be, please be careful out there!