A campfire can be one of the best parts of camping, or provide necessary warmth to hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts. Just don’t forget your responsibility to maintain and extinguish it to prevent wildfires.
-
1
Never cut whole trees or branches, dead or alive. Live materials won’t burn and dead standing trees — called “snags” — are often homes for birds and other wildlife.
-
2
Once you have a strong fire going, add larger pieces of dry wood to keep it burning steadily.
-
3
Don’t burn dangerous things like aerosol cans, pressurized containers, glass or aluminum cans. They could explode, shatter and/or create harmful fumes or dust.
-
4
Keep your fire to a manageable size.
-
5
Make sure children and pets are supervised near the fire. Never leave your campfire unattended.
-
6
Extinguishing Your Campfire
Allow the wood to burn completely to ash, if possible.
-
7
Pour lots of water on the fire. Drown ALL embers, not just the red ones. Pour until hissing sound stops.
-
8
If you do not have water, stir dirt or sand into the embers with a shovel to bury the fire.
-
9
With your shovel, scrape any remaining sticks and logs to remove any embers. Make sure that no embers are exposed and still smoldering.
-
10
Continue adding water, dirt or sand and stirring with a shovel until all material is cool.
-
11
Remember:
If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave
Pack it in, Pack it out.
It is your responsibility to pack out everything that you packed in, including any trash.
