Hammock Camping with Campfires
It’s the single most popular camping related subject after finding the right gear.
Campfires are a big deal.
Responsible campers understand that fire safety is critical to an enjoyable camping trip.
Hammock Camping
When you are sleeping in hammocks near the fire. It’s a good idea to be careful.
In this Hammock Camping with Campfires guide, we cover the following important fire safety issues:
- Hammock Camping without a Campfire
- Campfire Safety is No Joke
- Brief Wildfire Pop-Quiz
- Burn Bans are No Joke
- Nothing with a Flame
- Happy 75th Birthday Smokey Bear
- Which Firewood is Permitted for Camping?
- Buy Where You Burn
- Buy Wood Local within 50 Miles
- Statistics for Childhood Injuries from Campfires
- 24 Tips for a Safe and Happy Campfire
- Campfire Knowledge Goes a Long Way
Camping Without a Campfire
Can you imagine hammock camping without being able to sit around a campfire?
In parts of the United States, especially out west, campfires are becoming a significant problem in starting wildfires.
As a result, active burn bans are becoming more frequent across the country so camping without a campfire is a reality for many.
And many state and National parks have eliminated campfires through active burn bans.
How to Control a Campfire
It might not feel like a camping trip without a campfire. But how comfortable are you with your mastery of basic campfire safety?
And do you know how to start, maintain, and properly extinguish a campfire safely?
Or are you content to toss some wood in a pile and light a campfire?
Either way, knowing how to control a campfire is an important skill that will benefit you to learn.
Campfire Safety is No Joke
The overwhelming majority of new campers have no idea about basic campfire safety.
Unfortunately, a large percentage of campers who think they know, also have no idea.
And the ability to control fires outdoors is an essential part of campfire safety.
Campfire Safety Basics
It can’t hurt to make sure you know campfire safety basics.
All it takes is one gust of wind to carry glowing embers from your campfire to a nearby patch of dry grass, leaves, or kindling.
And those glowing embers will quickly burn a hole straight through your rain fly, mosquito netting, and camping hammock.
Brief Wildfire Pop-Quiz
So what’s the worst that can happen?
Or do you think it’s still just a little campfire?
Maybe, but Hollywood has made big-budget movies about wildfires that were caused by simple campfires. That says a lot about how bad it can get.
Let’s see how well you do on this brief wildfire pop-quiz.
What percentage of wildfires are caused by people?
According to the US National Park Service, nearly 85% of wildfires in the United States are caused by humans as a result of unattended campfires, burning debris and trash, equipment use, cigarettes, and intentional arson.
Which state had the most wildfires in 2018?
It’s not California, although that’s a good guess. It’s Texas with 10,541 wildfires. California came in 2nd place with 8,054.
Which state had the most burned acres by wildfires in 2018?
This is the more critical ranking factor. Texas may have the most wildfires, but it isn’t even in the top 5 for total burned acres ranking. Not that they are complaining about that. California is number one with 1,823,153 burned acres. Nevada is number two with 1,001,966.
Check the Park Office Website
Not to sound like a broken record, but as I mentioned in the Hammock Camper Guide, that’s why you need to call or check the ranger station or park office website before you go.
Or ignore my advice and instead of a campfire, your family might be sitting around a flashlight at night eating cold granola bars.
Burn Bans Are No Joke
Many areas of the Western United States have active burn bans.
And if you are camping out west, take my advice about contacting the ranger station or park office before you go.
Most of the big state and National parks have those notices on their website.
What is a Burn Ban?
It’s exactly what it sounds like, a ban on burning anything.
Nothing with a Flame
Some places might have exceptions during active burn bans for small campfire stoves or similar gear, but usually not.
No campfires. No lit camping stoves. No heaters. No lanterns that aren’t battery-powered. Basically, nothing with a flame.
And even in parks where there isn’t an active burn ban, you need to make sure you are up to date on all rules and requirements for fire safety and proper campfire management.
Another major issue to be aware of regarding campfires is to know which firewood is permitted for campfire burning.
How to Find Firewood for Campfires
Q & A on Best Sources of Firewood for Camping.
Can I cut down a live tree for firewood wherever I decide to camp?
If it’s on public lands, like or state or National Parks, cutting or sawing a live tree for firewood is nearly always illegal. It’s the same for private campgrounds. Plus, live trees make terrible fuel for campfires. The wood is wet, challenging to ignite, and creates enormous amounts of smoke.
Can I gather dead wood, like fallen trees and branches, from the forest floor for camping firewood?
This depends on where you are camping. Most State and National forests, parks, and campgrounds no longer permit gathering dead wood from the ground for campfires. The reason for this is mainly due to the explosion in popularity of camping.
Dead wood helps control soil erosion in forests. There is simply not enough dead wood and fallen debris to supply all the campers and still help maintain soil erosion.
That’s strike two.
So where do you find dry wood that’s perfect for campfires and won’t get you in trouble with Johnny Law?
You buy it locally near your campsite.
Buy Where You Burn
That brings us to ‘Buy Where You Burn.’
This smart, easy to remember marketing campaign is designed to make people aware of the potential destruction of local ecosystems by introducing insects that are not native to a specific area of the country.
Why should you be concerned? Because many insects live in wood. Specifically, firewood.
Keep Your Home Firewood At Home
So let’s say, for example, that you take logs from your woodpile at home outside of Cleveland. Toss them in the back of your SUV and drive to your camping trip in Maryland.
You could be introducing insects native to Ohio into a Maryland ecosystem that’s unable to handle it.
The idea is only to buy wood that is local to where you are building a campfire to burn it. Hence the catchy tag line, “Buy Where You Burn.”
Burn Locally Sourced Firewood
Buy Wood from a Local Source within 50 miles of Your Campsite
So what exactly is considered local?
Buy wood from a local source within 50 miles of your campsite. That is generally a good rule of thumb to follow.
So now you know the basics of campfires.
Check before you go to confirm that you are allowed to build and burn a campfire at the campsite.
Then buy your wood from a local supplier that is located near your campsite. Or within 50 miles of your campsite.
Now let’s talk about the importance of keeping kids away from campfires.
Child Campfire Injuries
According to the Journal of Burn Care & Research (November/December 2011):
- The majority of campfire injuries occur in children younger than 7-years.
- 70% of all pediatric campfire injuries is by contact with hot embers, not flames.
- Pediatric injuries from day-old campfires and fire pits are on the increase as camping continues an upward trend in popularity.
24 Tips for a Safe and Happy Campfire (Click here to print this)
- If your campsite has designated fire areas for building campfires, use them.
- If your campsite has pre-built fire pits, burn barrels, or similar fire safety devices, use them.
- Only build fires on gravel or dirt. Never on grass, leaves, or other flammable materials.
- Clear a five-foot designated ‘fire circle’ down to the dirt. Boy Scouts call this the ‘Fire Circle’ and train young scouts about mandatory campfire safety rules that apply within the circle.
- Campfire size should be built based on how big do you NEED versus how big can I make it. If the campfire is for only a few campers, then make it smaller to keep it contained.
- Rocks or No Rocks around the fire circle? Campfire markers are anything solid and noticeable, not just rocks. The markers designate an ‘off-limits’ campfire safety area and are especially useful with kids. On more than one occasion, I’ve used wood logs as fire circle markers and a dry seat after it rained. Later in the evening, I tossed the logs on the campfire as fuel. It was one less thing to clean-up and made it easier to practice ‘Leave No Trace’ camping.
- Pull back overhanging branches and tree limbs that could catch fire from the heat or floating embers of your campfire. If it’s not possible to move the branches, move the location of the campfire, so you aren’t directly under or next to the trees.
- Check the weather forecast. Wind can carry glowing hot embers from the campfire to nearby dry areas, vehicles, tents, hammocks, or people. It’s fire, use common sense.
- Stack extra firewood upwind and away from the campfire. 15 to 20 adult paces is a good start.
- Use Firestarters. It’s easy to make your own. Clothes-dryer lint is ridiculously flammable. Take an old cardboard egg carton, place dryer lint in each slot and melt old candles or paraffin wax on top. Another effective firestarter is cotton balls dipped in vaseline/petroleum jelly.
- Wait until the match is cold to discard it. Or dip it in your water bucket first.
- Start Small. Build with small branches first. Always maintain control of your campfire. Expand your campfire slowly, gradually increasing the size of the wood logs.
- When adding new wood to the campfire, all pieces should be pointed in towards the others or built-in parallel layers to create a chimney effect.
- Mind the Gap. You should see the light through gaps between the wood in a campfire. More smoke means the fire needs more oxygen and usually indicates the wood logs are too close together.
- Teach children to respect the dangers of fire and the rules for campfire safety.
- There is a vast difference between a child with a healthy respect for fire and another that is foolishly brave because an adult never taught basic campfire safety. The latter usually involves a hospital.
- Never touch or reach in the fire with your hands to adjust burning logs. And never let children see you do this. Use other logs, large sticks, or metal fire pokers to move wood.
- NEVER leave a campfire unattended. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave a campfire unattended. Bad things happen when campfires are left unattended.
- Always keep at least one or two buckets of water near the campfire for emergency or to extinguish the fire. The farther from a water source, the more buckets you need.
- Always bring a fire extinguisher with you and keep it handy near the campfire.
- Do not burn trash in a campfire. That should be common sense, but it’s still worth mentioning. Materials react to fire in unpredictable ways. For example, burning styrofoam cups or plates creates a toxic styrene gas which damages the lungs and the central nervous system.
- Don’t wear clothes or shoes while trying to dry them near a campfire. Rubber soles melt. Clothes burn. Use common sense.
- Check moisture levels of the ground and area around the fire. If there hasn’t been any rain in a few weeks, your fire circle will be dry and arid. Limit the size of the fire to as small an area as possible to maintain control. Or consider not lighting a campfire at all.
- And the most critical campfire safety tip? USE COMMON SENSE. Think before you burn.
We’ve covered the basic campfire and fire safety rules.
From checking to make sure you can legally light a fire, locating a local source for firewood, and finally learning essential fire safety.
Hammock Camping with Campfires
It is so important to know as much as possible about campfire safety.
At the top of that list is keeping yourself and your family both safe and happy.
It’s also nice to have the knowledge and skills to start and build a campfire in adverse conditions. Like wind or rain, for example.
Building safe, manageable, and beautiful campfires is a learned skill that is perfected over time with practice
Campfire knowledge goes a long way when you are hammock camping with campfires.
Campfires are Potential Wildfire Disasters
It’s also about protecting yourself from accidentally causing some of the epic wildfire disasters that you see on the news.
There are so many historic disasters that people have created from simple campfires. Totally destroying their lives in the process.
Any campfire is a potential wildfire disaster waiting for the right conditions.
You need to understand campfire safety and the basics of controlling fire to manage your campsite properly.
Hopefully, this helps on your next camping trip.
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Lance Gurganus is a writer with a love of all things camping, hiking, climbing, fishing, and basically everything outdoors. As long as it involves sleeping in a hammock at some point, he's game. Enjoying the outdoors is our goal, so we share ideas, tips, stories, gear reviews, and more.