Campfire Smoke

[Scrapper]

My campfires don't smoke, I convinced them they will get cancer if it didn't give up cigarettes.

[Joe_GA]

Originally Posted by hshaynes

I don't inhale

[chroniekon]

Enjoy them while you can. It's only a matter of time before the enviro police step in.
https://www.thoughtco.com/do-campfires-pollute-1204109

[daniel13]

It isn't camping without a campfire...no worries

[myredracer]

I grew up with campfires at my parents cabin starting from the day I was born. Been around thousands (didn't really count) of campfires, large bonfires and even some land clearing fires on several properties . Smoke from a campfire is lovely. It's in my blood. No lung cancer, just a little unrelated prostate cancer.

Smoke from a wildfire is really, really gawd awful tho. and smells different.

If you want campfire smoke to go away, just say "white rabbit" three times in a row.

[sdowney717]

California should just ban all outdoor fires including forest fires. Get out there and rake the forests picking up anything loose that a camper could use for a campfire.
You want clean air? Stop all types of burning including engine fuels, so then ban all ICE starting with diesel engines.

Its important you know, and likely to become a major democratic talking point.

[upflying]

I get wood smoke every summer in Reno from all the California forest fires. No ill effects yet.

[ppine]

Wood smoke is hard on the lungs, ask any fire fighter. Just stay out of the direct smoke.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by ppine

Wood smoke is hard on the lungs, ask any fire fighter. Just stay out of the direct smoke.

Not so much the "wood smoke" as all the chemicals that are in the smoke from a house fire. Bedding, appliances, carpet, paints...all producing toxic chems when they burn.

[waybeck2018]

Do not use any scrap wood that has been "pressure treated" by any method. Bad stuff used in that. I avoid visiting any campsites using scrap pressure treated wood. Otherwise, love and enjoy the campfire smoke with no concerns.

[BradJB]

I just wish my idiotic camping neighbors would quit burning plastic trash. Last week my campsite was inundated with dense, toxic fumes for hours. I finally went over to confront the inconsiderate fool but he had left. I got a bucket of water and doused his fire.

[firemedicmark]

Originally Posted by robbiels7

only in California.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by JayArras

I'm the person who sits in the chair in the campfire circle away from the smoke direction only to have the smoke follow me once I get comfortable.

Cool deal, that makes us long lost relatives as I'm the same.

Howdy Cuz!

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by BradJB

I just wish my idiotic camping neighbors would quit burning plastic trash. Last week my campsite was inundated with dense, toxic fumes for hours. I finally went over to confront the inconsiderate fool but he had left. I got a bucket of water and doused his fire.

Reminded me of a camping trip with my family way back in the 1950's. Old Ford towing a "tear-drop" trailer in a Forest Service Campground on the Olympic Penninsula.

About mid-morning, just after we fixed our breakfast over the campfire a terrible stench invaded our campground. My dad walked up the road and as he passed the recently vacated campsite next to us he saw a "steaming" fire pit that was the source of the terrible odor. According to my Dad, the group who was camping there the previous night put out their fire by merely peeing on it.

Eventually that smell left my "smell memory" only to return when overseas with the Army


As for campfire smoke, I enjoy the ambiance and aroma of a well tended campfire fueled with dry wood and minimal smoke. Unfortunately I believe campfires as we've known them will become illegal. Here's a link to an publication by the EPA regarding Wood Smoke:

https://www.epa.gov/burnwise/wood-sm...-health#health

Up until 1995, when I had a new house built in Colorado, my homes always had a fireplace. Colorado house did too but the only thing allowed under local code was a gas fireplace. Ditto for the house I bought after retirement. No houses in both areas would have permit approved if any wood burning appliance was included. Not even the more modern "air-tight" or "Cat Converter" type stove/fireplace was allowed. We have permanent burn ban in our city and when air stagnation advisories are issued, even homes built before the ban are prohibited from using fireplace or stove unless it's the only heat source. Only places like that anymore are in remote towns or summer cabins built in the hills.


Does raise a question in my mind. If the government keeps regulating things that cause people to die eventually, won't that mess with "Nature". If everyone lives longer and longer it would seem that eventually the world will run out of room for people.

[Alabama Potter]

Originally Posted by JayArras

I'm the person who sits in the chair in the campfire circle away from the smoke direction only to have the smoke follow me once I get comfortable.

My whole life I’ve heard “smoke follows beauty”😜

[KRedburn]

Being a firefighter I will take campfire/wildland fire smoke before I even want to consider house fire smoke.

In a house fire there are way too many carcinogens emitted in a burn.

For a house fire, my department requires us to stay on air until mop up is completed after which we are hosed down. Then we remove our airpac and our turnouts, stow in unit compartments before getting back in the cab. Turn out gear goes to extractor before it is put back in service.

We have lost 3 firefighters (before this policy was in place) due to cancers. It isn't just lung cancer. It can be multiple other types also.

[myxkp]

Originally Posted by JayArras

I'm the person who sits in the chair in the campfire circle away from the smoke direction only to have the smoke follow me once I get comfortable.

Yeah, it always waits for me to get resettled.

[ependydad]

Sadly, as a fulltimer- you'd be surprised how rare campfires are for us. We'll light the propane pit periodically. But real wood fires are pretty rare- like maybe 2-3 a year (and typically that's us going to someone else's site).

[Joe_GA]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Sadly, as a fulltimer- you'd be surprised how rare campfires are for us. We'll light the propane pit periodically. But real wood fires are pretty rare- like maybe 2-3 a year (and typically that's us going to someone else's site).

Yup. Yup. When we were full timers, we rarely bothered with fires because I wasn't hauling wood. When we were weekend warriors, we brought wood with us. (Not across state lines) Most places charge too much for a small amount of wood. One time, when visiting family, I broke down and bought wood so my grand kids could build smores. My wife has COPD and the smoke put her out of commission for a month! Oops. I guess I can't do that no more!

[D W]

Originally Posted by waybeck2018

Do not use any scrap wood that has been "pressure treated" by any method. Bad stuff used in that. I avoid visiting any campsites using scrap pressure treated wood. Otherwise, love and enjoy the campfire smoke with no concerns.

Also, no painted/stained scrap lumber, and stay away from pallets marked "MB".