Nice campfire, but how good is its smoke for you?/Kurt Repanshek file
Campfires have been part of camping in the National Park System forever, most likely. There certainly were campfires in the area we now know as Yellowstone National Park before it was a park. But is the smoke from campfires good for you?
Smoke from one small campfire probably isn't terrible for you, unless you sit immediately downwind of the flames. But, what about those campgrounds with dozens and dozens of campsites, each one with its own fire ring?
During a recent stay at the Fruita Campground in Capitol Reef National Park many of those fire rings got used. When the sun went down, the dancing flames, and their choking smoke, went up. For the next five or six hours the smoke swirled and blew and at times downright stunk (especially when people doused the flames with water; a good thing, but the smell is not so good.)
Being directly downwind of two of those campsites with campfires, we ate, smelled, and suffered through a lot of smoke during our two nights there. Not fun. And when the winds kicked up with gusts that seemed to reach 25-35 mph, I worried about flying sparks melting holes in our tent, or even setting a real wildfire.
Recently there have been stories in the news about the pollutants carried in the smoke from last year's wildfires in the West. One just came out last week from the University of California at Berkeley, and said:
Wildfire smoke can trigger a host of respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms, ranging from a runny nose and cough to a potentially life-threatening heart attack or stroke. A new study suggests that the dangers posed by wildfire smoke may also extend to the largest organ in the human body and our first line of defense against outside threat: the skin.
“Existing research on air pollution and health outcomes has focused primarily on cardiac and respiratory health outcomes, and understandably so. But there is a gap in the research connecting air pollution and skin health,” said study lead author Raj Fadadu, a student in the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. “Skin is the largest organ of the human body, and it’s in constant interaction with the external environment. So, it makes sense that changes in the external environment, such as increases or decreases in air pollution, could affect our skin health.”
Other studies have pointed out the bad health effects wood smoke causes on youngsters' respiratory systems, raised questions about the health impacts of bacteria and fungi carried into the air smoke from fires, and claimed wood smoke is worse for you than your car's exhaust.
Now, imagine if your lungs are comprised for some reason, or you have heart issues, or both. Do you pitch your tent or park your RV in a campground where you might fall to sleep with dozens, or possibly more than 100, campfires flickering outside your thin tent walls or RV? Sure, it's not like a 10,000-acre wildfire bellowing smoke, but at times the campground smoke can hover in place.
We're searching for specific studies on the health effects of campground campfire smoke and will relay them if we find any, but in the meantime, what do you think about campfire smoke in national park campgrounds.
Comments
We would love it if there was a ban on wood fires in all campgrounds. We understand that some people feel it is an important part of the camping experience and some cook over their fires. Gas stoves and fire pits are a wonderful alternativ. We find the smoke to be horrible on our lungs and oppressive, especially in the Pacific Northwest where the wood is usually wet and the forest canopy holds down the smoke from the entire campground. We hate that everything we own stinks like smoke for days afterwards- clothes, gear, even the inside of our vehicle. Having experienced several devastating forest fires in the past few years, smoky campfires also bring along a little PTSD.
As a retired ranger/naturalist and veteran of many "campfire talks" I see the situation very much in flux. The "campfire circle" where the naturalist tends the fire is the best place to preserve this hallowed tradition. She or he can use this occassion as the teachable moment to explain why campfires must now be restricted for the general public. It's true that the average tourist visiting national parks now is clueless about real fires. They are much more comfortable with propane, but it too is polluting, and many of them are aware of this. Woodsmoke is goodsmoke and part of nature, but only in the hands of skilled technicians. National parks are the perfect place to address this issue. We need naturalists who know fire.
People don't associate a campfire with smog/pollutant, but it is. I very much dislike being downwind of a campfire - the smoke smell permeates skin, clothing, and camping materials. But kids love a campfire - many a memory has been made around a campfire.
My vote would be to disallow campfires in national park/run/owned campgrounds.
Campfire smoke is awful. Truly ironic to see people in RVs build a campfire then retreat to the RV to watch it, leaving us tent campers to inhale the toxins! Campfires should be banned in all campgrounds.
Fires are air pollution, especially for those of us with asthma and allergies. We camp less as a result. It's still a problem in our suburban neighborhood, where neighbors burn all kinds of pollutants in addition to wood. We are hoping to work with the fire marshal because flames are too close to structures.
I've been camping since I've been 13 but we stopped having campfires when I was in my 20s. Not only is it expensive but not very efficient. One burns on the fire side and freezes on the other side. About 15 years ago we were in Yellowstone and, from the campfires, the valley in which the campground was was so full of smoke, one couldn't see anything: no views at all! It got me to thinking that if only 1/2 the campgrounds had fires allowed in the whole US, how close was that to one of the big wild fires? And, with that, how much particulate matter is released into the atmosphere creating more global problems?
Also, when I'm camping I'd like to breathe in clean air: not smokey air. When I can, I try to find campgrounds that don't allow fires or loops that don't allow fires. When there are fire bans I'm glad because then I can enjoy my stay better. But I'm also saddened because then the environment in that area is in trouble.
Maybe, like smoking, we need to get educated to find out how bad it is for everyone and stop having them. Only the tent areas should be allowed to have them for cooking and when it gets cold.
I once saw a 5th wheeler have a fire when it was in the 80s or even 90s outside. Where was the owner? Inside the air conditioned RV! What a waste of wood & horrible way to ruin our air.
I'm sure we can find ways to use the wood in more efficient ways.
So, in short, I think campfires should be banned nation-wide except for tent areas for food or when it's cold.
It is a dilemma for people who can't breathe.
What other cultural activity allows someone to use something of theirs to choke somebody else to death?
A lot of these comments are dramatic in their virulent hate of campfires.
I'm not going to get into an argument, but simply state my opinion.
I'm in my mid 70's and like so many have mentioned, have been a camper off and on all of my life.
First of all, speaking as a former firefighter, I learned to recognise the difference between different smokes. Wet wood has one smell, clean dry cured firewood has another. Particularly offensive and toxic is any wood with paint, varnish, or other substances on it. Most fires with trash added are similar to the toxic I've described.
I quit smoking tobacco or anything else over 20 years ago, and to this day react angrily to second hand tobacco smoke. It is beyond me, however, to react as poorly to the clean smoke of a well made and monitored campfire. [As opposed to a large bonfire surrounded by a bunch of loud, drunk yahoos.].