australia:campfires
camp fires
Introduction
camping with an open fire is a traditional activity that harks back to the days of cave dwellers as an essential survival technique and perhaps that is why so many are attracted to the ambience and the social gathering aspects as well as just chilling out in front of the warmth while you watch the Milky Way
from April to Sept, the nights are long and cold in the southern states, by early April after Daylight Savings has ended, the sun sets around 6pm and this gets earlier as the days progress - a wood fire becomes an important source of warmth and light to those who wish to stay up and socialise
as much as it is loved, it can be problematic, dangerous or just despised by the many who believe that fire scars should not be left by campers - perhaps a mute point if there are already maintained fire pits
if there are no fire pits, please respect the environment and do not create new ones unless in an emergency
unattended camp fires are a significant cause of bushfires which can have devastating widespread impacts
So you plan on going camping and having a camp fire - well be prepared!
you MUST understand in detail the local laws and regulations regarding camp fires
you MUST be able to completely put the fire out
you may have to bring your own wood
dead branches and trees are important parts of the environment to allow many animals to survive
if collecting wood is permitted, you may need an axe and chainsaw!
you are going to create fire and smoke - think well before you do so
don't light a fire in a valley on a night with no wind when it is likely to become foggy - the smoke will just settle around your camp sites and you will have extremely poor air quality to try to breathe all night!
check the wind direction and likely changes so the smoke does not blow into your tent or others
bring your “sitting around fire” clothing:
your clothing will become smokey and remain so until washed
avoid light flammable clothing near the fire - 3rd degree burns may be the result
don't get drunk - you may trip and fall into the fire
bring cooking options
don't forget to bring chairs!
Simple cooking ideas for dummies
australia/campfires.txt · Last modified: 2022/04/26 08:14 by gary1