Campfire safety: cool to touch before you leave

I was online this morning checking for information on the Tongue River Complex that has burned 28,917 acres (90% containment) in the Custer Gallatin National Forest (Montana) when I saw a nice video on their Facebook Page on the proper way to extinguish a campfire.

I was interested in this video because I knew that it had been awhile since I last posted on campfire safety in a post in October 2013. The information in that video is still pertinent as they talk about how to build a safe campfire from checking campfire regulations before you to go to your camping area. selection of the campsite, building a campfire pit, maintaining the campfire, and extinguishing the campfire.

Knowing that campfires are one of the causes of wildfires, I was interested in this video from the Custer Gallatin National Forest. Their Facebook post and video is embedded below. While this short video may be focused for users of the Custer Gallatin National Forest, I think that the instructions on how to safely extinguish a campfire are important. I was probably taught as a youth about the importance of being certain that the campfire was cool to the touch before leaving. It has been many years since I last camped, and perhaps I won't again. If I do, I hope that I remember campfire safety.

The first step in campfire safety is determining before you go to your campsite whether campfires are allowed, so check with your park/forest/campgrounds/local agencies before you go. There is some great information about campfire safety at the Smokey Bear website, including a very nice page on how to maintain and extinguish a campfire.