Burning Issues

When to Say NO to a Campfire — and Why

The campfire is a backcountry icon, and “dreaming the fire” is one of the great joys of evenings by the water. But the pleasures of the fireside come at a price. With this year’s drought-driven infernos still fresh in her mind, Tamia explores some “Burning Issues.” It’s a hot topic.
______________________________

by Tamia Nelson | October 8, 2002

It’s raining as I write this, a steady, sustained, soaking rain. Such rains aren’t uncommon in the northern foothills of New York’s Adirondack Mountains, but they were very rare this year. The summer that just ended was hot and dry — unusually so, in fact. Fire weather. And not surprisingly, we’ve had our share of fires. Some 70 flared up across the Adirondacks in August alone. Most were small, almost intimate, affairs. Many involved only a few acres, or a few tens of acres, and nearly all were contained quickly. None reached the size of the terrible western infernos that led the network news broadcasts.

A few still smolder on, though, and a brush-fire complex that began in a training area on Fort Drum (home to the 10th Mountain Division) was initially allowed … Read more »