How to Safely Plan Adventures During Wildfire Season
There is one very obvious way wildfire affect adventures…they burn down the forests! But that isn’t the only way they may impact your upcoming adventures. Keep reading to dig into the details of how to safely plan around wildfires, fire restrictions, and burn areas.
Why Worry About Wildfires?
In short, they’re deadly. That is a dramatic answer but it is a very real answer. However, it is not the only answer. By taking active wildfires and the risk of wildfires into consideration when you’re planning an adventure you are helping to prevent your own stress as well as…
…preventing road congestion in areas where firefighters and first responders need to access active fires.
…allowing displaced locals full access to hotels, grocery stores, and other basic services while they are evacuated.
…avoiding the risk of becoming someone who needs to be rescued from a fast moving wildfire.
…not accidentally starting another wildfire in a high risk location.
…keep your own lungs and eyes happy by avoiding the wildfire smoke.
…making the most of your adventure by having a Plan B, just in case.
Now that we have a list of all the reasons we need to take wildfires into consideration when planning adventures let’s chat about the different ways wildfires can impact your plans.
Active Wildfires
The most obvious way a wildfire will impact your adventure…is by burning down the forest you had plans to explore. An active wildfire will often result in closed trails, closed roads, limited amenities in nearby towns, and a general feeling of chaos and crowds on the roadways.
It is best to avoid any area with a new wildfire. When a wildfire is new and not yet contained or controlled closures come sporadically and with little advanced notice. Avoid the stress of being re-routed by firefighters and simply plan to avoid the areas entirely.
Some wildfires burn for months before being completely extinguished and if you’re traveling in the Western US it is very likely you will be traveling near an active wildfire. If this is the case you’ll want to know if the wildfire is contained or controlled. A contained fire is burning within control lines while a controlled fire is both contained and fully extinguished. Wildfires have their own terminology which the Forest Service outlines on their Fire Terminology page.
Resources for Active Wildfires: InciWeb and Caltopo [use the “fire activity” layer]. Local seach and rescue, government, and fire department websites and Facebook pages also tend to have useful updates.
The Burn Area
After a wildfire has burned through an area it leaves behind a scar. These scars are littered with burn damage and, most dangerously, snags. A snag is a dead tree that is still standing in some capacity. You may see signage warning of snags in the area [they can also be caused by wind storms or beetle kill, not just fires]. The risk of a snag is in their instability. Never pitch a tent under or near any dead or leaning snag trees. They may fall at any time.
Other risks within the burn scars include missing trail markers, hard to navigate trail conditions, displaced wild animals, mud or land slides, and other unexpected and unknown risks.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association does an excellent job of describing the risks you may come upon when traveling through recent burn areas >> Burn Area Safety.
Wildfire Smoke
The smoke from wildfires obscure your epic mountain views…but it can also impact your respiratory system much like intense allergies. If you are in a smokey area you may notice your eyes itching, your nose running, and your head aching from the poor air quality. It is not uncommon for areas “down wind” from wildfires to have air quality warnings issued. The wildfire smoke can have serious impacts on the health of at-risk populations…and it can make even the healthiest people feel like they have a bad head cold.
The best way to avoid these negative impacts of wildfire smoke is to stay indoors…or avoid the smokey areas all together.
Resources for Air Quality: Purple Air for current air quality conditions and AirNow to see where smoke plumes are traveling to/from. The Plume Labs app is also great for forecasting air quality [including smog / city pollution].
Fire Restrictions
This is the last topic on this list but it likely the most important…the best way to avoiding having a wildfire obstruct your adventure plans is to prevent the wildfire before it starts!
Put out your campfires…cold-to-the-touch-when-stirred out, not just splashed-some-water-on-it out.
Follow local fire restrictions [you can find Summit County, Colorado’s fire restrictions here and use Google to find the county or city restrictions for *everywhere* you’re traveling].
When in doubt, do NOT light it! Burritos, quesadillas, and dirtbag tortillas + string cheese + cured meat make for great trail meals when fires are not permitted!
Maintain your vehicle! A dragging piece of metal like a chain or exhaust pipe can create sparks on pavement and it only takes on spark to burn down a mountain side. This sounds extreme but it is one of the possible causes [the other possible cause was a cigarette flicked out a car window — don’t do that either!] of the Grizzle Creek Fire near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The Grizzle Creek Fire started in 2020 but will be impacting the area with road closures throughout 2021 and possibly beyond with extensive road damage from mud/rock slides.
Never Underestimate A Wildfire
Yup…one more fearful statement because it’s true. Wildfires have a mind [and sometimes environment — Google “fire storms”!] of their own. Skilled professionals work very hard to contain and control wildfires but humans only have so much control over the whims of Mother Nature.
At the end of the day [and this article!] my main goal is to provide you with the basic information needed to help you plan a safe adventure during wildfire season. I hope you find these resources useful. If you would like more assistance with your adventure planning Adventure Feet First is here to help. I create fully custom itineraries for Adventure Feet First clients and wildfires are always taken into consideration for any adventure west of the Rocky Mountains. I will include adventure-specific resources and a Plan B adventure if there are active fires in the area you’re exploring. If this sounds like something you’re interesting in adding to your adventure for the peace of mind…reach out! Let’s start planning epic, Type-II adventures, safely!
“It is known that wildfires behave unpredictably - this is fundamental.”
