Nine out of ten forest fires are caused by humans. The word preparedness and prevention are the most important words in ending forest fires. The number of forest fires started by lightning is far fewer than started by humans.
Utility companies across the country go through awareness training of it's subscribers to call before digging anywhere.
It is that same PRESENCE OF MIND Americans need to use when near or in forests.
1. Always have a water source nearby. This is in case the fire begins to be out of hand. Like a fire extinguisher indoors, a container of water is very important when near or in forests.
2. Never leave a fire unattended, even for a minute. This seems obvious to me, but, always extinguish a fire and be sure the embers are no longer hot when leaving a campsite.
3. Keep a metal shovel and bucket nearby. The shovel and bucket are methods of extinguishing fires that have leapt out of the containment stones or brim of a fire pit. Shoveling any available dirt near the fire will smother it by eliminating oxygen to feed it.
4. Put out fires completely with water. Always be sure the embers of a fire are completely extinguished by water. Every park, be it state or national has water somewhere nearby like a water pump station. Do yourself a favor and douse the fire with water to be sure the campfire is completely cold. It takes only a small effort to save the forest from flames for next years outing.
5. Don’t burn on windy days or during dry weather. That also seems obvious to me, but, people get anxious about waiting until the wind dies down and figures "It is only a small fire." There is no such thing as a small fire. Any fire is dangerous. If in a droughted area the chance of a small fire spreading by wind is very high. There is little to nothing that can be done with a shovel or water bucket if the fire is carried by wind to another droughted spot. Be patient and wait for the wind to end before starting a fire for any reason.
"Only you can prevent wildfires."
