We light a fire - tips, tricks

“I don’t like a fire for fire, for a close circle of friends,” the song says. In many verses and prosaic lines the bonfire is sung, its life-giving warmth, attractive light, unifying power.

But fire is a dangerous element. Lighted by the hand of an inept or irresponsible person, he can do many troubles, and tourist bonfires are no exception.

What a sin to conceal: the damage that travelers sometimes inflict on nature is still great. This is not only forest fires, but also long healing ulcers of bonfires, cut down young trees.

Let me remind you briefly what you need to know and strictly follow the tourist, so that, using fire, not to harm nature.

First of all, without the need not to make fires. If you have to park in habitable places, in the vicinity of the city, by the motorway, stock up with primus, gas stove or dry alcohol.

To make a bonfire, choose open areas, sandy or vegetation-free areas, old bonfires. If there are no such places nearby, remove the turf or clear the bonfire site to bare ground. Around the fire there should be a so-called mineral strip with a width of at least 40-50 centimeters, that is, a platform cleared of dry leaves, needles or sprinkled with sand.

You can not make a fire close to trees, under overhanging branches and branches. And it is completely unacceptable to do this in areas with dry reeds, reeds, moss and grass, in young conifers and clearings: in these places the fire can easily get out of control, and a fire will arise.

No less dangerous are bonfires on peatlands and forest stony placers. The decay of garbage, peat, humus can quietly develop into a destructive underground fire, which is very difficult to deal with.

In dry times, fire must be handled with extreme caution. You can not kindle it in the forest, under trees and shrubs. Try to keep open flames to a minimum. Make foci of stones or turf, arrange windproof walls or heat-reflecting screens (Figure 1), it is even better to use a primus. The width of the mineral strip in this case should be at least 2-3 meters.

Do not make large bonfires - save fuel. Use deadwood, brushwood, dry twig. It is unacceptable to take firewood prepared in the forest for the fire and, of course, any living plants, and in the steppe and mountainous areas - dry grass, reeds, shrubs, which serve as a protective cover for the soil.

If unused fuel remains, carefully fold it, if possible so that it does not get wet: the fuel will be useful to other tourists.

A bonfire is made by kindling. For this purpose, small dry (preferably spruce) twigs, birch bark, chips from coniferous tree stumps, cut wood chips of dry branches are used. Birch bark should be taken from old stumps or from dry birches, without touching living trees. But the most convenient “ignition” material, especially in rainy weather, are pieces of plexiglass and ordinary stearin candles: their stable flame can even kindle damp wood.

The bonfire is stacked in different ways - by a hut, by a well (Figures 2 and 3). However, the most common type of bonfire is the "grill." A series of twigs or logs with a gap between them of 2-3 centimeters is laid over a kindling lit up. The second row is laid crosswise on them (Figure 4). This is enough to make dinner. In order to maintain fire for longer and get coal, the third, fourth, etc. are laid as the first rows burn.

It is convenient to hang dishes over a fire on a cable (Figure 5); metal bifurcated tips or flyers can also be used, which should be stocked when going camping (Figure 6). This eliminates the need to cut flyers from living trees.

Someone should always be on duty near the fire. Leaving the halt, fill the fire with water, cover it with earth or trample your feet, and in winter throw snow so that the last smoke disappears. If you removed the turf for bonfire, lay it back.

Yu. V. Granilshchikov, instructor-methodologist of hiking and mountaineering

OCR and editorial 2005 Mikhail Dmitrienko

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