Funny you mention that. A First Nations friend of mine commented once that "You white guys make a campfire so high that nobody can get close enough to get warm".
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When my older brother was working for the Feds in Yellowknife (in a very upper management position) his assertion was that almost all the tundra and forest fires started there were cooking fires set and then abandoned without extinguishing by the indigenous peoples--not the white guys.
When conditions are wrong ( right) even small fires are a risk. All it takes is 1 small ember.
While cleaning up the back yard after my house warming party July 23rd, I came across a nice scorch mark ( about a foot long) in the grass. I was fortunate. someone else the day before wasn't as fortunate.
How many embers, or how big an ember does it take?
http://m.mykawartha.com/news-story/6...ion-in-lindsay.
As mentioned, I didn't need an official "fire ban", to know, any size was a bad idea. Hadn't had one since just after we moved in. It was early Aug before the township decided people were just too self centred, and had to announce one.
"small campfires" are in theory easier to douse quickly, nor does the wood really snap, crackle and pop. But all it takes is one wee one. And faster than you say oh ship, a grass fire can take off.