[pct-l] Fire Safety on the Trail (was Re: Smoking on the trail)

[Meridith Rosendahl]

Thank you for bringing up the issue of fire safety.

July 29, 2012 the Chips Fire started on or very near the PCT just uphill
from Belden.  This fire burned over 75,000 acres (300 square kilometers)
before the Forest Service announced full containment on September 1st. The
fire continued to burn or smolder within the fire boundaries, probably for
several weeks until the first rain.  This fire was "human caused."

The PCT was immediately closed from Belden to Highway 36 and hikers from
Sierra City to Belden were forced to leave the trail and hitch or otherwise
find rides to Chester or beyond to continue their hikes.

Then in early August the Reading Fire, a lightning-started fire, expanded
and the PCT was closed through Lassen National Park. Some hikers who
skipped around the Chips Fire to Chester before the Reading Fire closure
tried unsuccessfully to hike from Chester through Lassen Park, but the
smoke was too thick and they turned back to Chester and were forced to
hitch to Old Station.

 According to Jack Haskell, in a PCTA article dated January 18, 2013, the
trail [through Lassen national Park] remains closed and "Hazard assessments
and mitigation are needed before the trail can re-open."

In July just after discovery of the Chips Fire, hikers sleeping by the
trail were unceremoniously rousted from their sleep in the middle of the
night by Forest Service law enforcement personnel carrying weapons, were
grilled, and told to pack their gear.  They were escorted or ordered back
to Belden.  These hikers informed the FS that they had witnessed Hispanic
pot growers going by in the middle of the night carrying gardening tools -
shovels, etc.  Other hikers reported seeing a smoldering campfire right
beside the trail in the general area of where the fire started.  The cause
of the fire has never been determined, other than being "human caused."

The Chips fire burned for over a month, and caused the air in the
Chester/Lake Almanor area to be fouled for about as long.  There were days
when visibility measured in feet.  Eyes burned, lungs burned.  The fire
caused thousands to evacuate their homes from Belden to Lake Almanor.

I know that most hikers are very cautious with stoves and smokes, but all
it takes is one careless incident.  This year is one of the driest, if not
THE driest winter on record in Plumas County which translates to the
possibility of a horrific fire season.  Please please don't
smoke-as-you-hike.  Save your smokes for a rest period where you can
control the ash.  Be very careful with your stoves.  A fire you know about
can be difficult to extinguish.  A fire you're unaware of may cause a
catastrophe.

Off soapbox now.
Piper's Mom