Use Campfires Responsibly

The use of campfires in the backcountry was once a necessity for cooking and heat, but the development of versatile and efficient camp stoves has facilitated a shift away from the traditional fire. With increased use of the backcountry, the natural appearance of many areas has been compromised by overuse of fires and an increasing demand for firewood. Stoves are now almost essential equipment for minimum impact camping. They are fast and flexible and eliminate firewood availability as a concern in campsite selection.

If you typically depend on fires for cooking, consider using a stove instead, and build a social fire just one or two nights of your trip. A lightweight candle lantern or small gas lantern makes a pleasant alternative light source. The most important factors in determining whether or not to have a fire are:
1. Wind conditions and overall fire danger.
2. The availability of the right amount and type of firewood.
3. Administrative restrictions.

Firewood availability and selection. Only one type of wood is acceptable for building a low-impact campfire - dead and downed wood. Do not break dead branches off trees, alive or dead, standing or downed. Broken branch stubs and scars are obvious, long-lasting impacts. Instead, collect loose sticks and branches from the ground.

The size of firewood is critical to building a Leave No Trace fire. Firewood should be no larger in diameter than an adult's wrist and should be small enough to be broken by hand. Small wood is easier to burn completely, leaving less ash and half-burned logs to clean up.

Firewood should be gathered away from camp so the immediate vicinity does not look unnaturally barren. Take the time to walk five or ten minutes away from camp before gathering wood. Pick up the wood as you are walking so that no single place becomes denuded. Gathering small wood in this fashion eliminates the need for saws, axes and hatchets.

During foul weather times such as late season hunts, fires may be heavily relied upon for cooking and warmth. The same principles should apply: use only dead and downed wood, cut only what you think you will need, use the entire piece of wood and use (or carry with you) all the wood you have already cut. Be careful to minimize signs of chips and sawdust, which detract from the naturalness of the area.

Care and feeding of your fire. Do not break wood into burnable lengths until you are ready to feed it into the fire. If there is any unburned wood left when you break camp, the unbroken lengths can be scattered to blend in naturally with the surroundings.

Whenever you are not in camp, the fire must be put out completely. Forest fires caused by unattended campfires are not part of the natural processes and account for millions of dollars of damage every year. You should be able to place your hands in the cold fire pit and feel no warmth from embers.

All firewood should be burned down to white ash or very small coals. This may require some extra time, but it is a significant step in minimizing the impact of the fire. All fires should be cleaned up before breaking camp.

Fires in high-use areas. In high-use areas, where impacts should be confined to durable sites, campfires can be built in existing fire rings if there is sufficient firewood. In these sites, it is almost certain that there will be a fire ring present when you arrive. Build a fire only if there is a sufficient wood supply or you have brought wood from another area.

In popular campsites, encourage others to use a central fire ring by leaving it clean. Remove any residual trash and burn all wood completely to ashes. When the fire is completely out, crush any cooled charcoal. If the pit is full, scatter charcoal over a large area well away from camp. Such care helps avoid the proliferation of multiple fire rings in popular sites.

The mound fire. An innovative method of building a Leave No Trace fire is the mound fire. Mound fires can be built virtually anywhere using simple tools: a garden trowel or shovel, large stuff sack and a ground cloth.

To build this type of fire, begin by locating a ready source of mineral soil, sand or gravel. Mineral soil is the light-colored dirt that is found below the dark, rich organic topsoil layer. Gather mineral soil from a spot that is already disturbed by natural forces, where the impact of digging and collecting the mineral soil will not damage live vegetation. Sand or small gravel collected from stream beds or lake shores are good sources of mineral soil, as are the holes left by the roots of a recently downed tree.

Use the garden trowel to fill a stuff sack with mineral soil. Turn the sack inside out to keep the inside of the bag from getting dirty. Carry a load of mineral soil to the fires site. To make clean-up easier, lay a tarp or ground cloth on the fire site and then spread the soil into a circular, flat-topped mound about 6 to 8 inches thick.

The thickness of the mound is critical for insulating the surface underneath from the heat of the fire, and to prevent the ground cloth from melting. The circumference of the mound should be larger than the size of the fire to allow for the inevitable spreading of coals. It may take more than one bag of soil to make an adequate mound.

After the fire is out and you are ready to break camp, scatter the small amount of ash and coals well away from camp and return the mineral soil to its source.

The advantage of the mound fire is that it can be built on flat exposed rock or on an organic surface such as litter, duff or grass.

Portable fire pans. A fire pan is a metal tray with rigid sides at least three inches high. Metal oil drain pans and some backyard barbecue grills make effective and inexpensive fire pans. A few outdoor companies are beginning to market lightweight versions. When using a fire pan, elevate the pan with rocks or lime it with several inches of mineral soil gathered from a downed tree hole or streamside so the heat does not scorch the ground.

Wood-burning stoves. Small, portable wood-burning stoves are often used for heating and cooking. These stoves are popular and have been available for years. Improved designs have minimized weight and increased efficiency.