[pct-l] To flare or not to flare

[Paul Robison]

I'm not sure how many road flares you've actually used,  I use them for traffic control... Yu can't think they are equal in danger to a box of matches...

Please use a few in your yard, then think 'how will I contain this in a windy dessert' ... Putting your hands on a few burning flares will likely change your mind as to if they are appropriate in the dessert

Even the police cannot use them, nor forestry during the dry seasons in b.c.  They are just too dangerous... Vastly different world than a few boxes of matches... They roll, and break into pieces of napalm and you CAN NOT stamp them out,  yu can step on them until your shoe melts a hole and it will reignite... It will smolder and roll in the wind for hours... And WILL catch things on fire... The. It's up to you to bushwhack through mountainsides of chaparral trying to stamp out fires

~outpost

Sent from my iPod

On 2011-02-12, at 9:29 AM, Mike Chapman <altathunder76 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have used flares for years,ive never had to lite one,but I wouldnt
> think twice about saving my a$$ with one,and I sure as sin wouldnt ask
> permission.  I was just responding to another post,about bringing
> stoves to save your life.  I cant beleive the ego of someone trying to
> speak for 18 million people. My friends and family would like to be
> excluded from the list of 18 mill. in socal who dont want me or my
> gear. A box of matches are just as dangerous,no argument needed,just
> common sence,no need to disrespect the brainpower and actions of
> fellow hikers. I thought this was a close knit family.  By the way,I
> think Alta-nater is a good name,or stick with my fantasy league
> name,Altathunder. Road-Flare will only bring up this bogus thread in
> my mind,Hike on and try not to belittle your fellow hiker.
> 
> On 2/11/11, Brian McLaughlin <brianmclaugh at comcast.net> wrote:
>> While I see the point you are making, I think you have
>> oversimplified reality, which is much messier than that.
>> 
>> Smart people do stupid things. Well-informed people
>> sometimes act ignorantly, or rashly, or impulsively,
>> or out of fear. All it takes to become a stupid person
>> is a moment or two. And stupid actions, once they are
>> done, cannot be undone.
>> 
>> The difficulty with lighting a flare is that they are
>> designed to burn hot and not go out once they're lit.
>> You can't hold it until it is burned out, because it
>> would burn your hand. You will have to put it down.
>> In SoCal's dry forests that is just begging for trouble.
>> 
>> If you bring a flare, in some sense it means you are
>> intending to use it. Unless you have very specific criteria,
>> for when you'll light it, why you would light it, how you
>> will manage to handle it, and have practised all this
>> beforehand, the chances for screwing it up are too
>> high compared to the harm it could do.
>> 
>> Just believing that, if you're "not stupid" you can't
>> go wrong seems kind of... er, maybe I should stop
>> there.
>> 
>> Aimless
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Gerry Zamora" <gerry0625 at gmail.com>
>> To: "David Thibault" <dthibaul07 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [pct-l] To flare or not to flare
>> 
>> 
>> ...stupid people start fires not flares...
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