How To Start – And Finish – A Fire
SPOKANE — Putting out a campfire may seem like common knowledge, but when you don’t extinguish a fire properly it can be devastating, as many were witness to in Spokane Valley last week.
On the other hand, nothing says summer like a sitting around a campfire. So if you’re going to start a fire, Lt. Russell Armstrong with Stevens County Fire District #1 has some suggestions on starting it, containing it and making sure you can stop it.
Before you even light a match you need to have at least two 5-gallon buckets of water and a hose standing by. A legal campfire also must be in a designated ring made out concrete, masonry or steel.
Lt. Armstrong says you shouldn’t overfill the ring with wood because the flames and embers can be carried outside the ring to nearby brush or trees.
Finally when you’re ready to put the fire out, douse the fire with water several times and rake the ashes, making what Lt. Armstrong calls campfire soup. The key is to make sure all of the ashes are cold to the touch before you walk away from the fire.
