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Part 1 of 2Leave No TraceCampfires and Firepans

The Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, has developed this information for the guidance of its employees, its contractors, and its cooperating Federal and Stateagencies, and is not responsible for the interpretation or use of this information by anyone except its own employees. The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publicationis for the information and convenience of the reader, and does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of any product o r service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, nation al origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs,and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alter native means of communication of program information (braille,large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-2791. To file a complaint, write th e Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture,Washington, D.C. 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employ er.

United StatesDepartment ofAgriculture

Forest Service

Technology &DevelopmentProgram

2300 Recreation9723-2815-MTDC

Brian VachowskiProject Leader

5E52A58–Lightweight Firepans

March 1997

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Acknowledgments

Par t 1 of 2Acknowledgments .......................................................... 2

Introduction ..................................................................... 3

Leave No Trace Campfires ............................................. 4

Mound Fires on Fire-Resistant Pads ............................. 5

Par t 2 of 2Small Firepans................................................................. 7

When a Small Campfire Just Won’t Do ......................... 8

Leave No Trace.............................................................. 11

Product Sources ........................................................... 11

Contents

I would like to express my appreciation for the assistance of:

Mike Huey ............... Missoula Technology and Development CenterBert Lindler .............. Missoula Technology and Development CenterSara Lustgraaf ......... Missoula Technology and Development CenterNeal Maier ............... Missoula Technology and Development CenterSteve Morton ............................................................ Northern RegionGarry Oye.................................................. Pacific Southwest RegionRalph Swain ......Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training CenterAndy Trent ............... Missoula Technology and Development CenterLeave No Trace, Inc. ............................................. Boulder, Colorado

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Introduction

AA firepan is a metal tray or panthat elevates a campfire off theground, reducing the fire’s

environmental impacts. The MissoulaTechnology and Development Center(MTDC) was asked to develop a port-able firepan to minimize the impact oflarge campfires. We wanted a sturdyfirepan that would be inexpensive, be

compact and lightweight enough tocarry on packstock, and simple enoughto be constructed at home and ranchmetal shops. We designed and builtthree different prototypes, all of whichworked.

In addition, we tried out other productsand techniques designed for smaller

campfires. They all worked well. Oneproduct, the Fire Blanket, worked wellfor small and large fires, and couldsubstitute for the large firepans wefabricated.

These products and techniques allowcampers to enjoy the benefits of theircampfires without leaving a trace.

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Figure 1—Avoid building campfires that leave scorched rocks, heaps of ashes, compacted sites,unburned wood, metal, and other debris behind.

WW e’ve all seen ugly campfirerings: rings of rocks, unburnedpieces of wood, heaps of

ashes, metal and glass, and scorchedrocks. These impacts degrade pristinesettings and natural environments(Figure 1). Additional impacts include“beat out,” compacted areas aroundcampfires, limbs broken off all the treesin the vicinity, sterile soil underneaththe fire, and a general scarcity of fire-wood throughout the area. There mayeven be metal from melted beveragecans and other debris under the fire pit.

Leave No Trace, a nationally recog-nized outdoor skills and ethicsprogram, encourages all campers tominimize the impacts of campfires inthe outdoors. Using firepans and fireblankets can greatly reduce theresource damage associated withcampfires.

The best way to minimize the effectsof your campfire is to do without. Smallgasoline or propane stoves are handierfor cooking in most cases. At cold-weather hunting camps, wood stovesfor wall tents provide far more warmththan you’ll ever get from a campfire.Open fires are not permitted in manyfragile environments or during periodsof extreme fire danger (Figure 2).

If your heart is set on having a camp-fire in high-use areas, use an existingfire ring if there is one. That preventsadditional damage. In more remote orpristine areas—where there is no firepit—Do not build a ring of rocks.Instead, select a naturally durablesurface, like a rocky area without

Leave No Trace Campfires

Figure 2—This enclosed Pyromid stove canburn wood or charcoal as a low-impact alter-native to a campfire. Gasoline or propanestoves have even fewer impacts.

vegetation. Then build a mound fire oruse a firepan.

For fuel, use only dead wood that hasalready fallen down. Small materialthat is no larger than an adult’s wrist,burns more completely. Reduce theeffects of gathering firewood. Stobsfrom broken branches, hacked-offstumps, wood chips, and unscatteredsawdust detract from the naturalnessof the landscape.

Keep the fire small. Bonfires are forfootball rallies, not for camping. Evenlarge, social groups will not have hugeroaring bonfires if they truly care aboutpreserving the integrity of the naturalsetting.

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Figure 3—Good places to dig mineral soil are under the rootwads of overturned trees or in drystreambeds.

Figure 4—With fire-resistant cloth and at least 2 inches of mineral soil, you have the ingredientsfor a mound fire. To further reduce impacts, build the fire on a spot without vegetation.

Mound Fires on Fire-Resistant Pads

We also tried fire shelter fabric beneaththe fire (Figure 6). With a 2-inch (50mm) soil covering, it also worked fine.Discarded fire shelters are a potentialsource of this material for Agency

employees, but not for the generalpublic. They are lightweight, but havea tendency to crack after being foldedmany times.

MM ound fires are a good way togo. The concept is simple. Thecampfire is built on top of a

fire-resistant pad and a flattened pile ofmineral soil. Mineral soil is sand, dirt, orgravel without a lot of organic material.Organic materials, often found in thetop layer of soil (especially heavy indark-colored, musty-smelling “bog”soil), will dry out and burn. Peat mossis an example of organic material; peatsoil is used as fuel in some parts ofthe world.

To build a mound fire, place a fire-resistant cloth on the ground, thenplace about 2 inches (50 mm) of soilon top of the cloth. Collect mineral soilfrom an area that has been disturbed,such as the hole at the base of a fallentree (Figure 3). The cloth and dirt baseneed to be larger than your fire, sorolling embers will remain contained.Build your campfire on top of the dirt(Figure 4). After the fire is completelyout, put on work gloves, rub the ashesdown to a fine powder, and scatter theashes away from the campsite. Thereshould be little or no evidence of thefire.

The Fire Blanket, made of heat-treatedfiberglass with Kevlar stitching, workedwell in limited testing (Figure 5). Withabout 2 inches (50 mm) of soil on theblanket, there was no evidence ofdamage either to the fabric or thevegetation beneath after a 3-hour fire.We did not test the product for morethan 3 hours, but expect that somevegetation would be smothered overtime. A better practice is to place theblanket where there is no vegetation,or to move it before any vegetation issmothered. The Fire Blanket comesin four sizes: 18 by 18 inches (457 by457 mm), 2 by 2 feet (610 by 610 mm),3 by 3 feet (914 by 914 mm), and 3 by5 feet (914 mm by 1.5 m). The largersizes should handle as large a fire asyou should need.

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Figure 5—The Fire Blanket worked well. The 3- by 3-foot size weighs only 24 ounces.

Figure 6—Fire shelter fabric also works when building mound fires, but the fabric has atendency to crack after being folded a few times.

Neither the Fire Blanket nor the fireshelter will withstand sustained directfire. They need to be covered with soil.Having a fire-resistant cloth under themound does help immensely in clean-ing up the site and restoring its originalcondition.

Mound Fires on Fire-Resistant Pads

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