Thread: Campfires - We need to get better

It happens all the time - people just leave their fires burning when they leave the campsite - either for the day, or when they move on. I can't fathom the thinking behind this. It takes me an hour to put a campfire out properly - put the fire out, then I keep going back every 10 or 15 minutes and turn over the ashes, then wet down any hot spots - I do this until you can stick your hand in the fire.

Probably my CFA training about blacking out properly...

I think a lot of people just don't recognise it as being dangerous - particularly if there is no wind when they leave, they just think it will burn itself out without issue. Not sure what the answer is - ban dumb people from buying matches...?

Originally Posted by bacicat

Not sure what the answer is - ban dumb people from buying matches...?

How are they going to light their fireworks?

the ratio of the number of camping fires lit compared to the number of camping fires getting out of control must be small.......agree it shouldn't happen at all and they do cause a hell of a lot of damage and use up a lot of resources

keep in mind they did mention 'appear'

i'm just trying to think of the amount of camp fires i have left un-attended, i ran out of fingers and toes very quickly......between xmas and new year is the most recent, it was hot, dryish and a slight breeze, needed coals for three camp ovens.........ummm

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

How are they going to light their fireworks?

Show them how to make fire by rubbing two sticks (of dynamite) together...

I think that every year 7 child, and every adult should read "February Dragon" by Colin Thiele. Yes, it is old now, older than me, but I can still remember that story.

And it is about a campfire that they thought they had put out, but it wasn't, and the consequences.

I went camping up in the Lithgow area last weekend with some friends and went to a nice spot we'd camped at before, on the upper reaches of the Cox's River....one of the guys wanted to propose to his girfriend after a day of off-roading in his new GXL so 10 of us went up to make it a special weekend.

Someone was already there with 4 vehicles in our desired spot so we camped a couple of hundred metres away at another clearing we found.

Friday saw a total fire ban in the area so we went to the pub in Rydal for dinner and then came back....our neighbours had no fire either - good to see.

The following day there was no fire ban and our neighbours left after breakfast. I noticed there was still smoke coming from their fire so I took the shovel and went to investigate.

Empty tins of beans, emptry beer bottles, broken glass, a loaf of bread, all sorts of rubbish that they could have easily taken home with them...and 3 very large logs all thrown on the fire to burn all day....they hadn't even made an attempt to put it out.

Disgusting. They give everyone a bad name, it really irked me, particularly as they had about 8 kids with them who would all have learned that it's acceptable behaviour.

Unbelievably, a different group came down to set-up camp there on the Saturday afternoon. Loud music, shouting and letting off fireworks into the wee hours.

Why is it that some people believe that rules do not apply to them....or that someone else should clear up after them?

We can't even get people to stub out their cigarette butts, how can we expect them to put the campfire out properly.

What about someone fixing the problem of fires being started by lightning? Oops I didn't say that.

I though that "Total Fire ban" also means No Camp fires. Late at night, when it was very windy and Bushfire danger rating was very high, during a total Fire ban in our area [this was in Tweed shire, I live in a different Shire/Fire area so could not be sure the Total Fire ban went into another shire/fire area] I drove past a waterfall, near Mount Burrell on the Tweed River. There was a raging Campfire with flames 5 feet or so high near that Waterfall. As soon as I got home, 15 minutes away, I called it in to triple O, knowing the local Kungur RFS brigade Captain would probably talk to them, and warn them. I was alone and so did not warn them myself as they were drunk.

But it was tinderbox conditions, very windy and a blown spark could have started a bad fire. Some people have no common Sense.