Campfire Caused Wildfire, The Dangers Of Irresponsible Camping

An unattended campfire caused wildfire to spread over two miles at a campsite near the Yosemite National Park, California; the camping disaster took place Sunday night and caused a wide scale evacuation of 1,500 people from nearby locations.

Followers of the recent wildfire episode will be familiar with this story due to The Inquisitr’s previous coverage of the story, although not all the information was available at that point; therefore, we can now fill in the blanks.

According to the reports, which have only just been released, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection services had to bring in over 2,000 firefighters to try and ease the raging fire that quickly grew under the warm and windy conditions; despite their hard work and efforts, the fire still remains only 15 percent contained.

Furthermore, with officials worrying about the weather and temperatures for the upcoming days, it would seem that the firefighters still have their work cut out to ensure the blaze doesn’t pick up the pace again and continue on its rampage.

That being said, the size of the fire has stayed the same since Monday night, which means that fire services have been able to better focus their efforts; however, their dedication has come at the cost of physical injuries, with one official suffering minor burns. Luckily though, the majority of dangers have been kept to a minimum.

Furthermore, the fire authorities have managed to keep nearby structures undamaged by the campfire caused wildfire thanks to the methods of creating defensive spaces around homes and setting up fire lines alongside the the extra help of retardant being released from the air.

This has clearly helped the situation when compared with similar incidents and when you realize that the Yosemite National Park is still open; even though smoke can be seen from the roadside, the public is still permitted to use the park’s facilities.

According to the press release by National Park spokesman, Scott Gediman, the park is perfectly safe: “Visitors coming into the park are fine,” he said. “We’re not discouraging visits, just the opposite. If people have plans, there’s absolutely no reason for them not to come.”

Nevertheless, it’s important for all people using public parks and other camping sites to remember to be safe when they start campfires, says fire service officials; the fire danger for California is high at this time of year and therefore requires people to be extra careful.

Already over 51,000 acres across the state have suffered due to wildfires, which is a shocking contrast to last year’s reports of only 19,000 acres; this high number is even more shocking when you read last years report on climate change causing wildfires.

Therefore, if you’re planning on enjoying the Californian heat, try to remember to be careful when playing with fire, with this latest campfire caused wildfire story acting as a firm reminder of the dangers of irresponsible behavior.

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]