Over Memorial Day weekend, countless campers headed up to Northern Arizona, and many of them forgot to take care of something before heading home. According to forest officials, 144 unattended campfires were found in Coconino National Forest.
Those could have sparked 144 wildfires. The fact they didn’t is just luck, said Mark Wiles.
“It all makes us all kind of sit back and go ‘phew,’” he said.
Wiles is with the Wildland Fire Prevention and Education Team, which is contracted by the Forest Service. The team travels to different parts of the country and educates the public about the importance of entirely putting out a camp fire.
“Just a tiny spark from those fires has the potential to get out of control and could cause a lot of damage, and certainly our firefighters are having to get out in front of those fires and try to suppress them,” he said, “and that’s a dangerous business.”
To truly put out a camp fire, Wiles said, begins with campers burning their fire down to ash.
“And then before they leave those campsites, drown the fire with water, stir it, and put more water on it,” he said. “And you should be able to put your hand in there and it be completely cool before you leave.”
Wiles is in the middle of a two-week stay in Arizona. You may have seen him and his fire-prevention team at various outdoors stores in Arizona. One team member sticks out especially-– Smokey Bear.
