What do I need to learn about responsible fire starting?

other memory

other memory

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First off... There is no PC way to ask "What do I need to know about starting fires while in the field?" It's direct and to my point... However, see how that reads? Anyway, I hope ya'll catch my drift.

Does anyone have any 'must know' info and tips?
 
Check for a fire ban. Know the government agency responsible for the area you're in. Sometimes, it can get tricky. In advance of one outing I had, it took a couple of days for the county and national forest to figure out whose regulations took precedent.

If possible, use established fire pits or rings. Clear the ground in a 10' diameter of tinder, fuel, and other easy burnables. Make sure you don't have overhanging branches.

Have prepared ways to put the fire out. If it's going to be small, a water bottle at-hand will work. Make sure you have enough water, sand, dirt, and tools ready.

Prepare plenty of tinder, small stuff, kindling, and fuel. At the beginning, a needs a lot of small wood to get it going before you can add fuel. You don't want to be whittling shavings to keep an already-lit flame going. Prep twice what you think you're going to need.

Assign a fire marshal. If it's just you, you cannot leave the fire to go fishing or wood gathering.

When you're done with the fire, put it dead out. This means you can put your hand on the remnants and not get burned. If the fire was of any size, particularly if it was in a pit or ring, place an stick upright in the center to let others know you took care of it.

Hope that helps.
 
We have outdoors forums more appropriate than Prac Tac for this topic. I moved this to Wilderness & Survival Skills.
 
Be a good steward of the resources of wood at hand to burn. If you are on private land whatever the landowner is OK with using but on public land use what you need to cook or to keep a social/warming fire for the evening. Whenever you can use deadfalls and lean overs to make your fires. If it is dead and standing let it stay there if there is usable wood already down. In other words don't try to set records for amounts of wood burned or how high the flames went up. Those who come after you may need some dry wood. We will often hay stack a load of wood up against a tree for our use and the day we are leaving add to it for the next person or for when we come back.
 
common sense, and awareness of conditions will go a long way toward insuring a safe fire experience. As important as how to start that fire, is knowing how to manage it, and how to put the dang thing out. Totally out.
 
Knobs of tree sap or sap saturated bark will make a VERY powerful fire starter with large intense flames, maybe take that into consideration when starting it. Also, a fire pit that has been burning strongly for many hours can heat the ground and rocks up around it to a high temp. This makes putting the fire out a two or three soak and rake the coals procedure. Just a big dump of water and stir doesn't cut it. The super heated ground and rocks can and probably will evaporate and reignite the smallest of embers later and you might just have the fire start itself again, half an hour later. Sounds obvious, but a fire can be deceiving.
 
Fires can also spread underground via roots that you never see. Aside from clearing the area around your fire, after checking for burn bans, make a personal assessment onsite as to whether or not a fire is advisable. Is the area bone dry and loaded with forrest duff that might catch from a stray ember? Is the wind likely to stay reasonably mild, not just when you start the fire, but throughout it's burn cycle? Remember, you can be personally held financially and criminally responsible if your fire gets out of control, not to mention endangers or injures others.
 
Look at Mors Kochanski's Bushcraft, the section on firecraft. He has an extensive description of how to start and put out a fire.
 
The most important aspect of fire management in the field, is understanding when fire is NOT necessary. Sometimes, the most difficult descision is not to have one.
 
My 2 cents, find out the laws where you are doing it. I got in trouble for teaching fire starting outside a fire ring, at a state park. Ticketed. I took it. If there was one thing I was going to get in trouble for, that would be it.
 
Rick Marchand said:
The most important aspect of fire management in the field, is understanding when fire is NOT necessary. Sometimes, the most difficult descision is not to have one.
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Absolutly. However, I'm primarily a recreationalist. Sitting around a camp fire with friends in the woods is one of lifes most underrated experiences. It's primal. If I was more of a hunter, yea, I'd err to do without if I could help it.
 
If you have to build your own fire ring, don't use limestone or certain (any if you aren't sure) rocks taken out of a lake or stream. They can hold water and explode when heated.
 
Gaspumps said:
If you have to build your own fire ring, don't use limestone or certain (any if you aren't sure) rocks taken out of a lake or stream. They can hold water and explode when heated.
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Good stuff. Some folks will tell you that this is a myth... DON'T LISTEN TO THEM... IT IS A REAL DANGER. I back it 100% with personal experience.:thumbup:
 
Rick Marchand said:
Good stuff. Some folks will tell you that this is a myth... DON'T LISTEN TO THEM... IT IS A REAL DANGER. I back it 100% with personal experience.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Is that how you got them rocks in your head, Rick? :D

Yeah, my brother told me about a ranch shack that had just been built with a stone fireplace. First fire in it make the base stones blow up and shoot sharp stone shard shrapnel shrieking around the room.
 
As you are gaining experience, suggest you take advantage of some of the science out there. You can look at the KBDI Drought Index to get an idea of the fuel and soil moisture at the present time for your geography.

Even better is looking at your state’s fire weather forecast as it takes many variables into account. Even if I know there has been recent moisture in the region, when traveling even a short distance I check it as an area down the road could have a lack of rain. Just Google (your state) fire weather forecast and you should find it easily. Here is an example of mine.

Here is some more science on the subject.

As mentioned, avoid or address soils with roots at the surface or close. Also avoid soils with organic (duff) layers. These soils can hold embers underground for long periods of time and pop up later under dry conditions. Mors Kochanski’s book Bushcraft (as previously mentioned) addresses this.

Science aside, the best thing you can do is pay attention to fire behavior under differing weather conditions as well as noting fuel moisture to gain your own experience. Eventually you will get a “feel” for it like knowing when it is going to rain.

Fire is easy to control but does not burn as well in a stable atmosphere. Things you can actually see in a stable atmosphere are clouds in layers, stratus-type clouds, smoke columns drift apart after only a slight rise, visibility is less from smoke or haze or fog, and usually if there is any wind in a stable atmosphere it is steady.

Fire burns much better and is more likely to get away from you in an unstable atmosphere. Things you can actually see in an unstable atmosphere are vertical cloud growth, cumulus-type clouds, smoke rises high, visibility is usually good, wind currents may go up and down, there could be dust whirls, and winds are gusty.

In addition to the visual indicators above, make mental notes of your campfire’s behavior based on fuel moisture, temperature, time of day, and relative humidity in particular. Overtime you will have a better idea for your location when its safe and when its not… in some cases that time could be just a few hours.

I've had on my to do list to make a video on extinguishing a fire sans water. Will post it here at Bladeforums when I do. Peace, Chris
 
G'day alfred

alfred mcdougal said:
...."What do I need to know about starting fires while in the field?"
Click to expand...

You have already received plenty of advice relating to maintaning & extingishing your campfire ( some of it cited as comming from other sources rather than 1st hand experience).

But what about starting your fire?

Starting a fire in dry conditions with lots of kindling and other grades of timber available, is easy.

But what are you going to do when you venture, where others have already been & used all the available seasoned dead wood?

How are you at lighting a fire when it's needed the most when all you have available is wet wood with no kindling?


Kind regards
Mick
 
SouthernCross said:
G'day alfred



You have already received plenty of advice relating to maintaning & extingishing your campfire ( some of it cited as comming from other sources rather than 1st hand experience).

But what about starting your fire?

Starting a fire in dry conditions with lots of kindling and other grades of timber available, is easy.

But what are you going to do when you venture, where others have already been & used all the available seasoned dead wood?

How are you at lighting a fire when it's needed the most when all you have available is wet wood with no kindling?


Kind regards
Mick
Click to expand...

Then it is time to be creative with alternative ignition sources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyVsHNEBeBk
 
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Be aware of peat moss/peat bogs. that stuff will smolder for weeks, if not months. Even if the ground feels "wet" you could dry it out enough to get a ground fire going, and those are very hard to put out. As for the burning roots, I've witnessed a fire restarted from underground from a burned out willow bluff, where was enough ember in the stump to get a fire going after about three days solid rain, we thought it would be out, but it was hot enough to get a fire going again with dead wood, that had been soaking for three days. (the bluff was an isolated small swamp whole with about 1/4 mile of tilled earth around it, that's why it had been allowed to burn unattended, also, rain)
 
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