[pct-l] question - fire

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On Mar 3, 2012, at 8:13 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> Hey, what is the school solution if you suddenly smell smoke and see a
> fire headed your way when you are out in the desert??

First of all, fire does not behave like you see on TV. Yes, you get  
some dramatic flares as a fire finds another chamise bush and it  
bursts into flames. Largely you can just wait for it to pass and stay  
out of its way. Don't wander around a burn area. You can step into a  
smoldering hole and severely burn your foot. Stay on the trail.

What really happens is you get news there's a fire on the trail up  
ahead. Then everybody starts to fret and speculate and the rumors  
start to fly up and down the trail that some section of the trail is  
closed and people start freaking out about who is going to just go  
through it and who is going to go around it and who is going to skip  
that section and people get all outraged because their perfect thru- 
hikes are going to be ruined yadda yadda. This will go on for however  
many hours or weeks it takes you to get to where the fire is.

There's likely a chance when you get there the trail will be closed  
and you'll have to figure out a detour. Some people are pretty good  
about figuring out detours but some people don't feel confident  
taking them without maps and knowledge about the water. So they get  
all bummed out that they have to skip a section of trail and set  
about figuring out how to jump ahead, swearing they'll be back at the  
end to clean up the lost section. Others will roadwalk, determined to  
have an unbroken imaginary ball of twine from Mexico to Canada.

Sometimes you are allowed to walk through the fire, even while it is  
burning. I walked through many fires on both my hikes. What that is  
like is largely unpleasant. The air is smoky and it's hard to breath.  
Logs are crackling away just like they were in your fireplace, except  
they're just lying there like it's nobody's business. The burning  
forest is full of wildlife. The birds love it. The bears love it.  
They all run to the fire to get the goodies, the bugs and little  
animals and whatever else that didn't make it out. Maybe you'll meet  
some handsome hot shots who escort you through the fire. Maybe you'll  
get to see a helicopter.

If you are there before any response team has arrived, you will  
basically see things on fire. You can walk around it. It's not a big  
huge deal. It's not likely you will have a So Cal firestorm like you  
see on the news. That's mostly a late summer and fall thing.

Enjoy your hike. Don't start a fire.

Diane