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Ishkabibal t1_ixi5red wrote

Reply to comment by Mistyslate in Matchsticks pockmarking this mountain side after the Bolt Creek fire (OC)[6141x4094] by dendronautical

Is that entirely accurate? I’ve read that it was human-caused but nothing about it being started in the backcountry. I initially read that it was at a campground but haven’t been able to find much info. I’d say a better recommendation would be to pay attention to burn bans and take them seriously. Having a fire in the backcountry is not necessarily worse than anywhere else.

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Mistyslate t1_ixi74gr wrote

Having fire in the backcountry: will remove accumulated organic matter (which happens slowly in the alpine areas and hurts them for decades) and not everyone is extinguishing their fires properly.

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Ishkabibal t1_ixil5ux wrote

Well, fires aren’t allowed in the alpine already (https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/alerts-notices/?cid=fsbdev3_053600#wilderness) so that shouldn’t be happening to begin with. Not extinguishing fires completely is not exclusive to the backcountry. I would argue that people backpacking have a better understanding of LNT principles and are overall better stewards than the general public at campgrounds/dispersed campsites.

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Mistyslate t1_ixix39c wrote

I saw people burning fires in the alpine while backpacking.

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Ishkabibal t1_ixjh34e wrote

And I’ve seen people not in the backcountry have fires during burn bans. This just solidifies my point of paying attention to burn bans (including ones in wilderness regulations) and not spouting nonsense about arbitrarily telling people where to have fires based on your anecdotes.

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