Am I being ridiculous, and what would you have done?

[contaucreek]

AND...let them know how much the bill would be to fight a fire, billed to the knucklehead that started it !

I saw on the news that a guy, forget where it was, got his bill for a forest fire he started. $37,000,000.00 please. Pay the lady on your way out.
Here it is https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...lion-bill.html

[Dythbringer]

Hi all,

So, I was on a canoe trip this week with 6 other guys and one night, while drinking, we had a decent sized fire in a pit on a pretty messy site (when I say messy, I mean covered in pine needles and dry fallen twigs and branches from massive pines all around us).
One of the guys decided it was a good idea to take an old dry pine tree and stick it into the fire (standing up) to create a "Christmas tree". I argued that it was a bad idea after this hot dry summer and we had a pretty massive fight over it, but 6 guys basically kept quiet as we yelled at each other and he eventually made it smaller even though I was completely against it.
I heard the usual taunts of being a party pooper etc. as I stood near the pit as this 3-4 foot standing timber started to burn upwards, and they laughed as I stomped out embers that were landing on the ground.
One guy said "there are 7 guys here and it rained a bit so what are you worried about?".
I had to once again reiterate the fact that it was a dry summer, a little bit of rain means very little, and that a fire can quickly spread faster than 7 guys can move with a single bucket. Especially with family cottages on the lake.

Was I completely conservative and being a stickler? And, how would you have handled this?

I wonder how many people start their legal defense with "Well, you see your honour, we were drinking on the night in question when I thought <insert dumb idea here> was a good idea."

So you were in an area where there was plenty of kindling on the ground (dry pine needles are great kindling) and someone decides to take your controlled burn and add more fuel to it and potentially cause it to become an uncontrolled burn (3-4 ft high dry tree) because he wants to see a "Christmas tree". If the tree had flashed and the thrown embers started to catch, was this guy going to be the one to grab the burning tree and throw it into the lake (assuming there was one handy) so that the entire place doesn't go up?

I don't remember a Christmas tree on fire being a part of any holiday celebrations my family ever had, I don't think this is a normal thing. I would ask this guy if he routinely lights his Christmas tree on fire in his own home or would that be a dangerous thing to do (and if so, what makes it a good idea to do it outdoors in dry conditions). As for the rained a bit comment, that is just denial about how little rain we have received this year.

You did the right thing with stomping embers out. Making this campfire into a signal fire necessitated a more stringent course of safety. How many bad things could be avoided if people had a little bit of foresight? While your group thinks those embers wouldn't have caught anything on fire, you ensured that didn't happen (even camping, I stomp out embers which have jumped the fire pit and that wasn't at ground zero for pine needles and a fire ban wasn't in effect).

As for the group, they all think you over-reacted and from how you told the story, they might not "let you live it down" which means you may face having to relive this event every time the group gets together. I hope you don't but it sounds like these guys have a "frat-boy" mentality when drinking.

Dyth

[skypilot]

Sounds somewhat like fundamental attribution error where a person or persons think what they do is ok in the moment because of their "need" or "they can handle it/justify it" yet they would see the error and potential danger in someone else doing the same thing.

Sort of like the thought that I need to exceed the speed limit and it's ok because I'm in a hurry yet I am against anyone else speeding because they'd be dangerous doing it or couldn't control the vehicle at excess speeds.

Or the ever present "Herd Mentality" among the guys with you being the exception.

Kudos for the effort to do the correct thing under difficult social conditions. I'd consider separating myself from him/them as that behavior isn't likely to stop and will become less and less tolerable to you each time it surfaces.

[trimmer21]

Hi all,

So, I was on a canoe trip this week with 6 other guys and one night, while drinking, we had a decent sized fire in a pit on a pretty messy site (when I say messy, I mean covered in pine needles and dry fallen twigs and branches from massive pines all around us).
One of the guys decided it was a good idea to take an old dry pine tree and stick it into the fire (standing up) to create a "Christmas tree". I argued that it was a bad idea after this hot dry summer and we had a pretty massive fight over it, but 6 guys basically kept quiet as we yelled at each other and he eventually made it smaller even though I was completely against it.
I heard the usual taunts of being a party pooper etc. as I stood near the pit as this 3-4 foot standing timber started to burn upwards, and they laughed as I stomped out embers that were landing on the ground.
One guy said "there are 7 guys here and it rained a bit so what are you worried about?".
I had to once again reiterate the fact that it was a dry summer, a little bit of rain means very little, and that a fire can quickly spread faster than 7 guys can move with a single bucket. Especially with family cottages on the lake.

Was I completely conservative and being a stickler? And, how would you have handled this?

So,a campfire with an idiot throwing a dead full-size tree into just for shytes and giggles in the middle of a fire ground full of pine needles and all types of fuel and you're wondering if you did the right thing? You and your buddies may as well have been standing in a gas dump with leaky tanks. Did you notice how quickly that tree went up? It was blind shyte house luck the whole thing didn't go with you guys in it. I'd say these guys owe you at least a big box of beer for saving their stupid a**es. Really,you're lucky it didn't go POOF!

[onelessarrow]

Good on you, your gut was telling to you to do it. that`s a good thing, you never know, christmas tree guy may have added more than one tree to the fire if you were not there.
Here`s what I would threaten do next year because you know they`re going to remember this episode. What they won`t remember is all of the ants that got into the food that you had stored outside. So next year you`re going to put all the food in the tent with christmas tree guy. What could go wrong!!!!!

[mbhunter]

Yep. Good on ya. I can't even look at the stories on Algonquin right now. It's heartbreaking.

[JoePa]

Why is it that some people have to get drunk to enjoy life - there are so many things to enjoy - find some friends who can enjoy the great outdoors without getting hammered -

[twostroke]

Being a volunteer firefighter I can tell you the embers from that tree and any wind could potentially travel miles and if it was that dry can still start a grass fire that would be well beyond those guys control....not to mention if you are the cause you good get the bill for the trucks that respond and for something like that your lookin at about 4 firetrucks at roughly 450.00 an hour per truck.

Been there after a few beers and things get a little crazier and I don't know the situation of the area you were in.....but sounds like its prob a good thing you were there and of level mind to babysit the rest of the crew.

[yellow dog]

The Chiniguchi area is dead smack in the middle of the sulphur kill area from Sudbury's Inco smelter. There's a ton of bedrock in the area so the soils dry out immediately after a rain. Any fire that gets started in these sulphur kill areas will smolder underground long after its 'been put out' so yes, you did the right thing by insisting the campfire be kept small.
Almost any area up there that you travel you'll see signs of old burns.

Well said sawbill.

[Sharon]

Ah men and alcohol = many interesting scenarios.