What kinds of things are the "defensive driving" equivalent to handling campfires?
In What do you do if the fire does get "out of control"?, someone asked a legitimate question, and @berry120 wrote detailed response, and ended with a "tl;dr" saying, " but if the proper precautions are taken, you should very rarely or never need to resort to them. Prevention is 100x better than cure in this case."
I would think a comparison with defensive driving would suggest the right mindset for preventing out-of-control fires. Defensive driving does not assume that every other driver will follow the laws; it is meant to give you best chances when someone is driving like an idiot and deals you a card off the side of the deck. And my impression is that defensive driving is now expected.
In terms of defensive driving, I expect an attorney could say a lot about, for instance, "A missed turn is much less painful to recover from than an accident."
But I wanted to ask: What are the basic approaches, actions, and measures taken to see that what starts in the fire pit, stays in the fire pit?
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/3851. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
First, lets dispel a common myth: Rock fire rings do absolutely nothing to contain, corral, or control a fire.
That being said, a fire needs 3 things: air, fuel, and heat. An overabundance of one will create an uncontrollable fire. Thus, keep the following in mind:
- Consult the local fire conditions. Public lands agencies will rate the fire conditions. Heed their warnings.
- Don't build a fire in high winds. Sparks can be thrown hundreds of meters into dry tinder and start a fire
- Be aware of fuel nearby - anything organic that touches or is near your fire can combust. Tall grasses, shrubs, even roots that cross from your fire to a fuel source can create issues. Look for overhanging branches above your fire.
- Keep your fire small. There is no need for 10foot flames. Smaller fires have less likelihood of throwing sparks or torching nearby vegetation
- Burn nothing larger than the diameter of your wrist -- this allows for both a clean burn (no hot logs that you will be tempted to leave behind), and helps keep a fire low
- Break or cut wood so that it fits within your fire -- sticking a 20ft log in one end and burning it down is a bad idea
- Consider using a fire blanket under your fire to reduce the chance of igniting below ground roots (which also reduces fire scars)
- Consider alternatives: a small candle, a lamp. I've backpacked professionally for 15 years and haven't had a fire in the back-country in the last 14.
Addendum: Being "defensive" also means being prepared if all goes south in a hurry. Have water, or a bucket of sand/non-organic soil nearby to help stop spot fires if it escapes your ring. A proper tool (shovel) should be on hand if car camping.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/3852. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads