Originally Posted by
blackalps
fire bans really don't do shit, and unfortunately, it's not just tourists. last summer (or the year before, I can't remember) I was camping way up in the backcountry in an area that tourists don't seem to know about and it requires a high clearance 4x4 with a locking diff to reach. I passed a few folks on the way up, all CO plates. There was a full state fire ban on. I was freezing my ass off even with down and base layers on, but didn't build a fire. From my high alpine campsite, I could see 4 or 5 fires on the road I had driven to get there, and one group was shooting fireworks. infuriating.
That said, I'm not rich and don't have a sprinter or some portable camping heater. If I'm camping and if there's no fire ban on, I'm 100% going to have a fire, and it's not because of instagram. It's warm and nice and gives me something to do before bed. It also seems to calm my dog down at night, for some reason. She gets really antsy and stressed after dark without, unless she's in the car. But I'm also not building fires in straw fields or where the wind might blow the sparks into one.
anyway, hope some precip helps a bit with the fires. and ya know, some snow so we can ski.