by Nathan Rogers

Created on: July 28, 2009   Last Updated: July 29, 2009

Camping is one of the few recreations that we participate in that can cause massive damage with the slightest mistake. An inopportune gust of wind at just the moment the campfire pops can result in a massive fire. In many cases a major fire can be thwarted before it even begins with something as simple as a bucket, a shovel, and an axe. A wildfire can be a small blaze or it can be a major one. In 2002 a major fire caused by lightening burned over 500,000 acres of prime forest in Oregon. While not preventable using the axe, bucket and shovel, the fire was brought under control with these tools, although the bucket was one that filled the cargo hold of an airplane. The axes and shovels were wielded by the brave individuals fighting the wildfire at the frontline.

The bucket, shovel, and axe can serve many purposes while camping and are generally useful tools to have around. In some cases it can actually be illegal to camp without them. This is particularly true in areas where the forest provides the livelihoods of thousands of people such as most areas on the west coast. The bucket provides a tool for carrying water or dirt to extinguish a fire before it gets out of control. The shovel is a valuable tool for clearing the are where you place your fire so that there is no fuel on the ground around the fire pit that can easily catch fire. It also serves to scoop soil into the bucket to extinguish a rogue flame. The axe can serve to cut down branches above a fire pit to prevent them from catching fire or to cut down a blazing limb before it has a chance to spread.

These same implements can serve other uses as well. A shovel is always useful when camping in unimproved ares as a way to create a hygienic latrine pit. It also helps to look through the ashes in your fire pit when extinguishing your fire before leaving. The bucket can be useful for carrying water from a water source to douse a campfire before leaving camp. The axe can be useful for creating fuel for the campfire from dead limbs in the area around your campsite, where permitted.

Every year numerous fires are caused by people camping and not properly maintaining their campsites. In most cases the fires could have been stopped shortly after beginning or prevented altogether with these implements. While it is unlikely we as individuals are likely to stop a major fire that is already going, if we have these implements with us when camping, it may be possible to prevent the fire from ever starting.

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