[pct-l] Re: Campfire permit

[AsABat at 4Jeffrey.Net (AsABat)]

My posts were to get people thinking about fire safety. I am not an
authority on this issue, and apparently the rules and regulations vary in
some places and are interpreted differently in others.

>  > Do you have a campfire permit? If you have a wilderness permit,
>  > including a thru-hiker permit, you do.
>
> Can you provide a reference for this statement?

See my later post where this may or may not be true, depending on the
wilderness area. I suppose we should ask the PCTA about this, and see if
they can issue the campfire permit if needed.

> You forgot to mention that you are also required to extinguish the fire
> using the "shovel."

True. I know of at least one wilderness area where a "shovel" is required if
you use a camp stove.

> My interpretation of this document is that any food heating
> device, other than electric or the more esoteric chemical reactive
> devices is a "campfire."

That is my understanding.

>  > The California Health and Safety Code (13007-13009) is very clear that
>  > whoever causes a fire is liable for all damages and costs of putting
>  > it out. If you mess up, you pay.
>
> It would appear that the plaintiff (that would be the government) has to
> prove, by a preponderance of evidence, blah blah blah, your guilt.

True. I naively still believe that people should be responsible for their
actions.

>  > Sixty of my customers lost their homes in last year's fire, and two
>  > lost their lives.
>
> Fire is a fact of life,
> no matter where you live. Those that choose to live in high-risk areas
> (or low-risk areas for that matter) have made their choices and should
> have to live with them. No sense whining about it.

I will agree with this statement as to fire caused by nature - lightning,
etc. I will not agree as to man-made fires. Some of the homes lost were in
high-risk areas, others were in more suburban areas but the fire spotted a
half mile ahead.

>  > Lots of info from the California Department of Forestry here:
>  > http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/education_content/downloads/campfiretips.pdf
>
> This URL which you provided would seem to contradict your previous
> statement with regard to how large an area needs to be cleared for a
> "campfire."
>
> For example: the diagram on page 1 clearly shows the space to be cleared
> is 20 ft. + the diameter of the fire. That would be 20.5 feet for most
> commonly used stoves. You claimed 10 feet was sufficient.

I saw that. All the words say 10 feet diameter, but the diagram shows 10
feet radius. I'll opine that with most stove failures a 10 feet diameter
clearing would probably keep a fire from starting. What the rules are I
cannot say for certain. I can say that the clearing should be large enough
to prevent ANY fire from ANYTHING you might do. I also look for natural
clearings rather than dig up vegetation.

AsABat