Safety and SMOKEY lives within all of us during summer months

YES ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES, no truer words were uttered!

How to Pick Your Spot

 

Follow these steps when picking your burning site to promote wildfire safety:

DO NOT build a fire at a site in hazardous, dry conditions. DO NOT build a fire if the campground, area, or event rules prohibit campfires.

FIND OUT if the campground has an existing fire ring or fire pit.

If there is not an existing fire pit, and pits are allowed, look for a site that is at least fifteen feet away from tent walls, shrubs, trees or other flammable objects. Also beware of low-hanging branches overhead.

Note: in some areas digging pits are not allowed because of archaeological or other concerns. Find out the rules in your area please.

 

Dig A Pit

 

Whether building a campfire pit yourself, or preparing a pit that you found on your campsite, there are some safety tips you should follow.

 

Building Your Campfire Pit from Scratch

 

Some campsites have unsuitable pits or may not offer pre-made pits at all. If this is the case:

1.Choose a spot that's downwind protected from wind gusts, and at least 15 feet from your tent and gear.

2.Clear a 10-foot diameter area around the site. Remove any grass, twigs, leaves and firewood. Also make sure there aren't any tree limbs or flammable objects hanging overhead.

3.Dig a pit in the dirt, about a foot deep.

4.Circle the pit with rocks.

5.Your campfire pit is built and ready for preparation!

 

 

Preparing Your Campfire Pit:

 

Before you start your campfire, you need to prepare your pit.

1.Fill the pit with small pieces of dry wood; never rip or cut branches from living trees.

2.Place your unused firewood upwind and away from the fire.

3.Keep a bucket of water and a shovel nearby.

 

How to Build a Campfire

 

Now that you have prepared your pit, it's time to build your campfire. Follow these steps to have a safe and fun time.

 

1.Gather three types of woodTinder (small twigs, dry leaves or grass, dry needles)

Kindling (sticks smaller than 1" around)

Fuel (larger pieces of wood)

 

2.Loosely pile a few handfuls of tinder in the center of the fire ring/pit

3.Add kindling in one of these methods:Tipi (Good for cooking)

Lay the kindling over the tinder like you're building a tent.

Cross (Perfect for a long-lasting campfire)

Crisscross the kindling over the tinder.

Lean-to (Good for cooking)

Drive a long piece of kindling into the ground at an angle over the tinder. Lean smaller pieces of kindling against the longer piece.

Log Cabin (Longest lasting campfire)

Surround your pile of tinder with kindling, stacking pieces at right angles. Top the "cabin" with the smallest kindling.

 

4.Ignite the tinder with a match or lighter

5.Wait until the match is cold, and discard it in the fire

6.Add more tinder as the fire grows

7.Blow lightly at the base of the fire

8.Add kindling and firewood to keep the fire going

9.Keep the fire small and under control

How to Put Out the Campfire

 

A roaring fire is both a success, and a responsibility. It is your job to properly maintain and extinguish your campfire so that future campers can do the same.

 

Maintaining Your Campfire

 

As you're enjoying your campfire, remember these safety tips:

1.Once you have a strong fire going, add larger pieces of dry wood to keep it burning steadily

2.Keep your fire to a manageable size

3.Make sure children and pets are supervised when near the fire

4.Never leave your campfire unattended

5.Never cut live trees or branches from live trees

 

Extinguishing Your Campfire

 

When you're ready to put out your fire and call it a night, follow these guidelines:

1.Allow the wood to burn completely to ash, if possible

2.Pour lots of water on the fire, drown ALL embers, not just the red ones

3.Pour until hissing sound stops

4.Stir the campfire ashes and embers with a shovel

5.Scrape the sticks and logs to remove any embers

6.Stir and make sure everything is wet and they are cold to the touch

7.If you do not have water, use dirt. Mix enough dirt or sand with the embers. Continue adding and stirring until all material is cool. Remember: do NOT bury the fire as the fire will continue to smolder and could catch roots on fire that will eventually get to the surface and start a wildfire.

 

REMEMBER: If it's too hot to touch, it's too hot to leave!

 

Don't burn dangerous things!

never burn aerosol cans or pressurized containers. They may explode.

never put glass in the fire pit. Glass does not melt away, it only heats up and shatters. Broken slivers of glass are dangerous.

aluminum cans do not burn. In fact, the aluminum only breaks down into smaller pieces. Inhaling aluminum dust can be harmful to your lungs.

 

Pack it in, Pack it out.

be sure to pack out your trash. It is your responsibility to pack out everything that you packed in.

 

Tips for Safe Debris Burning

Comply with Local Regulations: Contact your local fire department in advance to confirm that burning is allowed and to find out whether a permit is required to burn debris.

 

Check the Weather Forecast Weather fluctuations, such as sudden gusts of wind, could make debris burning spark a wildfire. Call your local fire department the day you plan to burn debris to finalize that the weather is safe enough to burn.

 

Choose a Safe Burning Site A safe site will be far away from power lines, overhanging limbs, buildings, automobiles, and equipment. It will have vertical clearance at least three times the height of the pile, as heat from the fire extends far past the actual flames that you see.It will have horizontal clearance twice the height of the debris pile.

 

Prepare the Site Correctly: The ground around the burn site should be surrounded by gravel or mineral soil (dirt) for at least ten feet in all directions. Keep the surrounding area watered down during the burn.

 

If using a Burn Barrel, Make Sure it is Equipped with the Proper Features Burn Barrels must be made of all-metal construction in good condition (no rust on the sides or bottom) and properly ventilated with three evenly-spaced, three-inch square vents spaced evenly around the rim near ground level. Each vent must be backed by a metal screen. A Burn Barrel must have a metal top screen with mesh size of one-fourth inch or finer to keep sparks from escaping and potentially sparking a wildfire. When burning, layer the different types of debris and stir often. Be careful of sparks escaping the barrel when you stir it.

 

Remain With your Fire Stay with your fire until it is completely out. To ensure the fire has been completely extinguished, drown the fire with water, turn over the ashes with a shovel and drown it again. Repeat several times. Check the burn area regularly over the next several days and up to several weeks following the burn, especially if the weather is warm, dry, and windy.

 

Keep it Legal It is illegal to burn plastic, tires, and most other waste products not from a tree or shrub.