Franktown Cafe

I was thinking about fires and their causes and thinking of writing an article on washoevalley.org when we had one on the east side this week caused by a legal burn pile.

I was reading a community website the other day that discussed the potential fire danger in the woods from “hikers and campers”. It seems to me from my casual observation that very few of the wildland fires I have heard about were started by hikers and campers. By campers I mean “legitimate” campers. Not yahoos who only go out in the woods because that is where they can party, have bonfires and engage in other reckless behaviour because no one else is watching.

Lets see, The Martis Fire, that burned up the Truckee River canyon between Truckee and Reno several years ago: unsupervised kids (yahoos) playing at camping and fire. The fire dept. put it out but not well enough and it blew up the next day.
The Pleasant Valley fire a couple years ago: Shooters, although they deny it.
I don’t remember the fire down Carson City way a couple of years ago but it was caused by kids in a neighborhood pouring gas on lizards as they they ran burning through the brush- burned up several homes.
The most recent Washoe Valley fire: homeowner
The Waterfall fire a couple of years ago that burned to the edge of Washoe Valley: kids partying (yahoos) and playing with matches.
Last years fire at the new freeway bridge north of the valley: construction workers
Bridgeport fire: Marines on survival training.
A previous Verdi fire: Kids set the lookout tower on fire because they were “lost”.

I don’t recall any being caused by hikers or “campers” even though community paranoia had a proposed campground at Galena Creek Park denied a couple of years ago.

Most hikers have no reason to start a fire and, I suspect, don’t smoke while they hike. Backpackers typically use small self-contained stoves and don’t bother with fires. Car campers usually are in compgrounds with fire rings. Again- these aren’t the same type of people who exasperated the Forest Service workers in the Boca area last year when they sole a picnic table and drove it several miles to their camp to throw on their fire.

This link gives a statistical breakdown of one area in one point in time.

When I’m hiking or camping in the woods, I’m more afraid of yahoos and homeowners starting fires.