1. Use existing fire rings and keep your campfire small. Building large fire rings encourages the burning of larger pieces of wood. This tends to spread ash outside of the ring and breaks down its perimeter (see picture below). In turn, this leads to an eye sore for other visitors and encourages them to build another fire ring - multiplying the impacts.
2. Use dead and downed wood. If you encounter a lack of firewood and feel the need to cut live limbs off trees you should reconsider your need for a campfire. Collect wood that can be broken by hand to help keep the campfire small and reduce your impacts.3. Please pack out your trash and do not burn it in your campfire unless it can be completely burned in one sitting and you plan to do so. Examples of things that often do not burn completely in one sitting: Anything lined in foil (e.g. Mountain House packaging), metal cans, plastics, and food scraps.
4. To extinguish your campfire soak it with plenty of water and stir. Smothering with sand often doesn’t put the fire out completely and when the wind picks up it blows the sand off leaving a potentially hazardous situation. Also, this fills the ring with sand which in time makes the ring undesirable and encourages others to build new campfire rings – spreading the impact.
Remember, you are one of many people here to enjoy the landscape. Please help keep the Lost Coast clean and pristine for all.
Your Wilderness Ranger
Paul
707-986-5405
lostcoastranger@gmail.com
