Building a Safe Campfire
Careless construction and use of campfires can lead to the development of a wildfire. Please protect the land from unwanted fire by following these simple steps when building a campfire. Consult the forest fire management staff in your communities or this website to determine the fire danger in your area.
- Smaller, lower intensity campfires are best for cooking on and can be safely managed. Don't build campfires that are too large to entinguish or control.
- Before lighting a campfire, make sure you dig a fire pit down to mineral soil; no organic or burnable material (wood, moss, twigs) should be in the pit. The best fire pits have sand or gravel bottoms.
- Clear the area around the pit of all woody or organic surface debris. A safe clear area would be at least 10 feet in diameter. If possible, use a ring of rocks as a guard against escaping sparks, coal and other fire hazards.
- Build your campfire away from flammable structures such as tents, trees and buildings.
- Keep a pail of water or a shovel nearby and before leaving, make sure the fire is completely extinguished.
- Start by pouring water onto the fire until no smoke or flames are visible. Stir the pile with a stick or the shovel and continue adding water.
- Repeat these steps until the campfire is out.
Enjoy your campfires this summer but please do your part to prevent wild fires.
To report a wildfire, call: 1-877-NWT-FIRE or 1-877-698-3473.
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