Monday, April 20, 2009

Poll Answer - Firewood


Thanks to everyone who participated in our most recent poll:

IF YOU USE AN EXISTING ROCK FIRE RING FOR YOUR CAMPFIRE, YOU SHOULD...

Answer choices included:
  • Collect extra firewood to leave for other visitors. 3 (2%)
  • Dismantle the ring after you're finished. 15 (12%)
  • Move rocks and logs close to the ring to sit on. 0 (0%)
  • Leave the fire ring free of excess ashes, burned wood and trash. 107 (85%)
The 85% of you that answered "leave the fire ring free of excess ashes, burned wood and trash" were correct.

The natural appearance of many recreation areas has been compromised by the careless use of fires and the demand for firewood. Campfires are beautiful by night. But the enormous rings of soot-scarred rocks—overflowing with ashes, partly burned logs, food and trash—are unsightly. More important, campfires can and do ignite wildfires. Some of us grew up with the tradition of campfires. But they are no longer essential to comfort and food preparation. Many lasting impacts associated with campfires can be avoided by using lightweight stoves, fire pans, mound fires and other Leave No Trace techniques.

Consider using a stove. Visitors should carry a stove, a pot, matches and sufficient fuel to cook all meals. Build fires only when conditions are right—the danger of wildfire is low, downed and dead wood is plentiful, and there is sufficient time to prepare the fire site, burn all the wood to cold ash, and clean up.

Fires are inappropriate in fragile environments where plant growth is extremely slow. Wood from an arctic willow or alpine krumholz, which is hundreds of years old, will burn only a few short minutes. Build a minimum impact fire. Consider whether a fire makes good sense at your picnic or campsite.

If a campfire is important to you:
  • Ask about pertinent regulations and campfire management techniques. 
  • Judge the wind, weather, location, and wood availability. Decide whether it’s safe and responsible to build a campfire. 
  • Where there are no fire rings or grates, bring a fire pan or set aside time to build a mound fire. 
  • Have a trowel or small shovel and a container for saturating the ashes with water. 
Use an established fire ring. If you camp near an existing rock ring, use it instead of building a new one. The most inviting fire rings are of a reasonable size and free of excess ashes, half-burned wood and trash. Leave a fire ring that encourages others who want a fire to use it.

Mound or pan fires. Fire pans are metal oil pans or aluminum roasting pans that make good containers for low-impact fires. Use a pan on a durable, unvegetated surface away from cliffs or overhangs. Line it with a few inches of inorganic soil, and elevate it with stones to prevent damage to vegetation and soils below. Drill two or three holes through the side of the pan to attach it to a pack with cord for transport.

Use dead and downed wood. Keep fires small. Don’t snap branches off of trees, either living or dead, because this scars them. For example, in the early 1980s, 95 percent of the trees in Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR, campsites were damaged by people collecting firewood or damaging tree trunks. Use only sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand. Larger pieces of downed wood play an important and unique role in nutrition, water cycling and soil productivity. They provide shelter for wildlife such as lizards and, while decaying, germination sites for many plant species.

Firewood smaller than the diameter of your wrist breaks easily and burns completely to ash, making clean up easier. Half-burned logs present a disposal problem—and often a disagreeable sight for the next campsite visitor. The use of hatchets, axes or saws isn’t necessary or desirable. In the backcountry, gather firewood en route to your camp so the area around your site retains a natural appearance.

Manage your campfire. No matter which campfire technique you employ:
  • Never leave a fire unattended. 
  • Don’t try to burn foil-lined packets, leftover food, or other garbage that would have to be removed later.
  • Burn the wood completely to ash: Stop feeding the fire, and give yourself an hour or more to add all the unburned stick ends. 
  • Saturate the ash with water. Make sure it’s cool to the touch, and remove any trash.
  • Scatter all the ashes widely with a small shovel or pot lid. 
  • Restore the appearance of the fire site. 
In popular areas, leave a single, small, clean rock ring centered in the campsite. Dismantle and clean up any extra fire rings. If a fire grate is present, don’t build or use a rock ring. Leave the grate clean and ready for the next person. In remote areas, clean up thoroughly and disguise the fire site to make it appear as natural and untouched as possible.

3 comments:

June said...

leaving a fire ring after you use it is not what I call ''leave no trace'' even if its free of exess ash and garbages...

Ben said...

June - thanks for your comment. The rational behind leaving one well maintained, properly located and clean fire ring is that people are more apt to use an existing fire ring if it's available and clean. The idea is that we can minimize the overall number of fire rings by having one good one rather than several poor fire rings full of trash.

Certainly no fire rings at all would be the most Leave No Trace option but that's not always feasible.

June said...

Actually I missread the question,I missed the ''existing fire ring'', my idea was about a ring that you built yourself....so after this clarification I totally agree..
Sorry about my english because its not my first language......