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Minimise the impact of fire

menu_book picture_as_pdf bookSam Price-Rees Bushcraft Australia
Issue_2_Dec_2013-30

Minimising the impact of fires is one of the Leave No Trace programs key messages.

Australia is one of the most fire prone continents (Russell-Smith 2007). Although fire is a natural environmental variable over most of the country and plays a critical role in many ecosystems, fires that are carelessly or accidentally started can have devastating consequences, resulting in the critical loss of natural habitat, wildlife, property and human life. The four leading causes of bushfires are:

1) lightning strikes;

2) deliberate lighting – arson;

3) human carelessness, such as from discarded cig-arette butts, escapes from campfires, backyard burn-ing or BBQs;

4) accidents, such as vehicle fires (Davies 1997).

Although it is not possible to completely erad-icate bushfires due to natural occurrences, we can significantly minimise the number of human-caused wildlife by increasing our awareness and changing our behaviour when taking part in outdoor activities.

Campfire escapes are much more common than we realise, and even when they turn into very signif-icant, damaging, costly events, their causes are only accorded a passing reference.

“Some areas are simply not suitable for camp fires. Many alpine areas, places with peat or other organic soils, and most rainforest areas, have developed largely in the absence of fire. Such places can be very fire sensitive. For example many of Tasmania’s alpine pines, such as Pencil pines and King Billy pines, have

been destroyed by fire, and will never regenerate. Even in other areas firewood collection causes habitat destruction and can leave campsites denuded and ugly. The use of fuel stoves is our best safeguard against doing such damage to our beautiful bush.”

Wildfire burns thousands of square kilometres of bush each year in Australia. Large uncontrolled bushfires started unintentionally or accidentally during hot, dry windy periods can spread rapidly and have devastating outcomes. Some examples include:

• Over the holiday period in January this year more than 50 bushfires were started in the Boroondara, WA region from unattended campfires.

• St Mary’s, south-east of Launceston, Tasmania, Jan-uary 2007 was deliberately lit. Over $80 million was paid out for just the private assets destroyed.

• The 2005 Mitchell Plateau fire in the Kimberly burnt for six weeks, across a vast area and impacting wild-life and ecosystems that are already under pressure from enormous “threatening processes”.

In United States there was a massive fire in Yosemite National Park, August 2013. It was was likely started by a hunter who allowed an illegal fire to escape.

Along with the destructive nature of wildfires, the natural appearance of many recreation areas has been compromised by the careless use of campfires and
 the demand for firewood. Campfires are beautiful by night. The enormous rings of soot-scarred rocks – overflowing with ashes, partly burned logs, food and rubbish – are unsightly by day. Surrounding areas get stripped of their natural beauty and vital habitats as every scrap of dry wood and sometimes live wood has been collected and torched. Rocks end up perma-nently blackened and removed from their ecological function as shelters for small creatures.

One of the easiest steps you can take to prevent fire impacts is to choose to use a fuel stove:

Some of us grew up with the tradition of campfires. But they are no longer essential for comfort or food

Leave No Trace Australia For Summer: MINIMISE THE IMPACT OF FIRESam Price - Rees

30 | BWA December 2013

preparation. Many lasting impacts associated with campfires can be avoided by using lightweight stoves, fire pans, mound fires and other Leave No Trace tech-niques. Fuel stoves should be the preferred option. Consider alternatives for creating an ambient atmo-sphere such a using candles (if there is no fire ban).

If you do choose to have a campfire, the following need to be considered:

Check local regulations and conditions

• Check fire restrictions, regulations and permits for the area you plan to visit. Are you permitted to have a campfire? Is it a day of Total Fire Ban?

• Some areas may be “Fuel stove only” where it is prohibited to build a campfire

• Judge the wind, weather, location and wood avail-ability and then decide whether it’s safe and responsi-ble to build a campfire

• Never leave your fire unattended – look after your fire constantly.

Always use existing fire rings – keep fires small

• Smaller fires will have less impact and are easier to manage

• Bring a fire pan or set aside time to build a mound fire in places where there are no fire rings or grates

Use dead and fallen wood

• Ask yourself if the wood you are using comes from a sustainable yield

• Don’t snap branches off trees, either living or dead, because this scars them. Use only sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand

• Larger pieces of wood play an important and unique role in nutrition, water cycling, and soil productivity. They provide shelter for wildlife such as lizards and, while decaying, germination sites for many plant species. When near the ocean, use driftwood if it’s available.

• Smaller firewood and wood that breaks easily will burn completely to ash, which makes the clean up easier. Half-burned logs present a disposal problem – and often a disagreeable sight for the next campsite visitor

• In natural areas, gather firewood on the way to your camp so that there is less impact on a particular

site and the area around your site retains a natural appearance.

Do not transport wood across country

• Transporting wood over long distances can spread seeds, weeds and other pests

Managing and cleaning-up of your campfire

• Bring a trowel or small shovel and a container for saturating the ashes with water.

• Saturate the ash with water, and stir the remains so that all the ash is exposed to water - make sure it’s cool to the touch, and remove any rubbish

• Don’t try to burn foil-lined packets, leftover food, or other rubbish that would have to be removed later

• Burn the wood completely to ash - stop feeding the fire, and give yourself an hour or more to add all the unburnt stick ends

• Scatter all the ashes widely with a small shovel or pot lid

• Restore the appearance of the fire site

• In popular areas, leave a single, small, clean rock ring centred in the campsite. Dismantle and clean up any extra fire rings. If a fire grate is present, don’t build or use a rock ring. Leave the grate clean and ready for the next person. In remote natural areas, clean up thoroughly and disguise the fire site to make it appear as natural and untouched as possible.

Dr Sam Price-ReesLeave No Trace Australia Education Training Program ManagerSam@LNT.org.au

References:

http://www.lnt.org.au/

Davies C (1997) Analysis of Fire Causes on or Threat-ening Public Land in Victoria. 1976/77-1995/96, Research Report No 49, Fire Management Branch, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria, October.

Russell-Smith J, Yates CP, Whitehead PJ, Smith R, Craig R, Allan GE, Thackway R, Frakes I, et al. (2007) Bushfires ‘down under’: patterns and implications of contemporary Australian landscape burning. Inter- na-tional Journal of Wildland Fire 16, 361–377. doi:10.1071/WF07018

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