With the Memorial Day weekend behind us, the Summer camping season is now ahead of us.
Across Central Pennsylvania, campers have dozens of choices for outdoor fun, including private campgrounds, and State Parks. Many of those areas allow open burning for controlled campfires, but building a safe fire is more than just piling up some sticks and lighting a match.
"Just about any State Park you go to, there's going to be designated areas for fires," says Park Ranger Dan Geiswite. At Little Buffalo State Park near Newport, Perry County, he'll help to oversee up to 40 groups of campers per weekend, through Labor Day.
"In our park here, in our campground, we have fire rings," Geiswite tells CBS 21 News, pointing to a metal ring on the ground.
According to Geiswite, as long as there are no posted drought warnings, or other bans imposed at the park and the surrounding area, campers are allowed to light small, contained campfires.
But while a fire can enhance the camping experience, safety needs to take top priority.
Geiswite recommends using a metal fire ring, like the ones provided at Little Buffalo, or arranging several large rocks in a circle. In every case, the fire ring should be placed in an area free from low-hanging trees. Campers should also keep a buffer-zone of several yards between their fires, to keep stray embers away from wooded areas, fields, and structures that could catch fire.
When building a fire, campers will find the most success using the "teepee" method.
This process begins by crumpling up a piece of newspaper, and surrounding it with small pieces of wood, called kindling.
Around the kindling, slightly larger pieces of wood should be arranged in a "teepee" fashion, until the paper and kindling is surrounded by the teepee structure. (below)
When lighting the fire, begin by igniting the newspaper, which will burn hot and fast, spreading to the kindling, and eventually to the larger pieces of wood. At this time, the teepee shape may collapse, but the fire should now be sustained. Continue by slowly adding more smaller pieces of wood, and eventually begin adding larger pieces of wood, until you can place a log onto the fire. Once the fire is strong enough to keep the log burning, the fire can be tended for hours.
Finally, make sure to keep a bucket of water near your fire location at all times.
If the fire were to grow out-of-control, the water can be used to douse any stray embers. Also, campers at public camping locations can be fined if they leave a fire unattended. Should you have to leave your camping location in a hurry, the water will come in extra handy.
Engine 21 can be seen every Wednesday on
CBS 21 News at 6. It is the first-place award-winner of the Associated Press of Pennsylvania's "Best Series" in 2009.
