The photo of a smouldering fire in the hills behind Peachland has sparked a conversation that has taken off like wildfire, and offered a good reminder that it’s the season to be careful.
“A warm, cozy and abandoned campfire … and we are surprised on the number of (wildfires)?” reads a post that went up Sunday at 8:25 p.m.
Someone identified on Facebook as Hugyi Tamas said they scraped the soil near the fire, which was near the zipline, by hand and doused what remained of the flames. They also called the firewatch and let their volunteer firefighter neighbour in on the find. Peachland fire had yet to be informed when they were called Monday morning.
Dozens of commenters took to Facebook post to express outrage over what they deemed dangerous stupidity.
Ultimately, more than one Facebook commeter pointed out, it may a sign that a refresher on how to snuff out a campfire is needed.
READ MORE: REMEMBER THE WILDFIRE IN OKANAGAN MOUNTAIN PARK
“When good things must come to an end, the best way to extinguish a fire is to let the wood burn completely to ash if possible. If there is not enough time to allow for this, the next best thing to do is to completely extinguish the fire with buckets of water,” reads a government website.
“Please make sure you drown all of the embers, not just the red ones. Pour water until the hissing sounds stops. Use your shovel to stir and break up the campfire, and to scrape all embers off of the logs. It is best to ensure that you have enough water on hand to extinguish your fire (eight litres best), but if this is not possible, you can use sand or dirt to smother the fire (this method should be used only as a last resort). Be very careful with this method, because the sand and dirt camouflage the still-hot coals; the majority of burn injuries from campfires occur the day after the fire. Just remember that a fire can stay hot for long periods of time underneath sand and dirt.”
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