Camping and campfires go together in many people's minds. But the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is warning against that tradition in the current hot spell as well as highlighting the potential danger of burning toilet paper on the hills.
Warm temperatures and lack of rain dry out vegetation and the ground itself and greatly increase the danger of even the smallest of fires getting out of control.
Heather Morning, MCofS Mountain Safety Adviser, warned: “The idea of sitting around a campfire is a romantic one but it can all too quickly turn into a nightmare.
“Dry grass catches fire especially easily, but fire will spread quickly through any dry vegetation and fires can even smoulder in the ground itself, where it is peaty or full of roots, bursting into flames maybe hours after the campfire seems to have been extinguished.”
With the difficulties of access and water supplies facing firefighters, a fire in the great outdoors can do immense damage over a huge area before being brought under control, endangering wildlife and humans as well as rural properties.
“For cooking or even just heating water, camping stoves can be cheap and easily available, and are so much more efficient. If you can’t get a fire lit it can spell disaster for your dinner, but if you can’t get a fire out, then it will be a disaster for everyone – not to mention dangerous to yourself.”
Heather underlined another fire hazard during warm dry weather – burning loo roll. “When ‘going’ outdoors, many people are taught to burn their loo roll. Otherwise it takes a long time to break down and can blow around in the wind – unsightly and unhygienic.
“But the thought of galloping down a hill with your trousers around your ankles, fleeing a fire you just set with loo roll, doesn’t bear thinking about!” The advice is to bag up any used toilet roll and pack it out with you.
Once an integral part of camping, campfires are more and more becoming unacceptable. Quite apart from the danger of wildfire, they cause environmental damage and use up dead wood which is a valuable insect habitat (and insects are essential for a health bird population). They also leave scarring on the ground which, in popular areas, is unsightly and can take years to clear.