10 Tips to Prevent Wildfires

We can prevent human-caused wildfires by following a few guidelines for safe, enjoyable recreation. Photo through Adobe Stock.

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Nationally, almost nine out of 10 wildfires are caused by humans. These preventable wildfires threaten lives, property, and resources. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a public lands pro, you play a critical role in preventing wildfires.

Follow these tips and share them! You can also help to encourage responsible recreation by spreading the word about how to prevent wildfires. 

1. Check weather and drought conditions.

Checking weather conditions can help you plan ahead to know whether it’s safe to have a fire. Photo through Adobe Stock.

Pay close attention to weather and drought conditions, which can affect how easily vegetation can catch fire.

Avoid any activities that involve fire or sparks when it’s hot, dry, and windy. If the conditions aren’t right, choose non-flammable options. Remember, conditions and local restrictions should guide your decision for any fire-related activity, such as building a campfire, operating equipment outdoors, off-roading on dry grass, or burning debris. 

2. Build your campfire in an open location far away from flammable materials.

Build your campfire in a safe area, away from flammable materials and vegetation, so you can enjoy your camping experience. Photo through Adobe Stock. 

Many people love to go camping and enjoy the warmth and light from a campfire, but your campfire can cause wildfires if you do not build and extinguish it properly.

To build a safe campfire, make sure you:

• Select a flat, open location away from flammable materials, such as logs, brush, or decaying leaves and pine needles.
• Scrape away grass, leaves, and needles down to the mineral soil.
• Cut wood in short lengths, pile it within the cleared area, and then light the fire.
• Stay with your fire.

3. Douse your campfire until it’s cold.

After dousing a wildfire with water, the campfire should be stirred and be cold to the touch before you leave. Photo through Adobe Stock.

Make sure your campfire is completely out by following these steps: 

1. Douse the fire with at least one bucket of water.
2. Stir it.
3. Add another bucket of water.
4. Stir it again. 

Your campfire should be cold to the touch before you leave.

4. Keep vehicles off dry grass.

It’s important to stay on established roads and never drive or park on dry grass. Photo through Adobe Stock.

If you are off-roading, remember that your exhaust can reach temperatures of 1,000+ degrees! To prevent vegetation from igniting into a wildfire, avoid driving or parking on dry grass.

5. Regularly maintain your equipment and vehicle.

6. Practice vehicle safety.

Carry a shovel, bucket, and a fire extinguisher in your vehicle in case you need to put out a fire. 

Off-highway vehicles must have a spark arrester. You should also carry a bucket, but you could use a helmet to carry water as an alternative.

Off-highway vehicles must have a spark arrester to prevent wildfires. Photo through Adobe Stock.  

7. Check your trailer tires, bearings, and axles.

If you’re towing a trailer, ensure it’s maintained, the tires are not worn, the bearings and axles are greased, and safety chains are properly in place. Photo through Adobe Stock.

If you’re towing a trailer, please remember to do a maintenance check to ensure the tires are not worn, the bearings and axles are greased, and the safety chains are properly in place and not dragging on the ground.

8. Keep sparks away from dry vegetation.

Equipment that produces sparks should be used in a cleared area far from vegetation and flammable materials. Photo through Adobe Stock.

Never operate equipment that produces sparks near dry vegetation. Always clear the area around your workspace. This area should be even larger if it is windy and dry. 

Many wildfires are caused by improper equipment use, so it’s crucial to operate spark-throwing equipment safely, away from dry, flammable vegetation. Photo through Adobe Stock.

When operating equipment outside that produces sparks, create clearings where all flammable materials have been removed. The width or radius of the clearing should be 10 to 25 feet, depending on the conditions.

9. Check conditions and regulations before you use fireworks or consider safe alternatives.

Sparklers and other fireworks should always be used in an area far from flammable vegetation. Photo through Adobe Stock.

Fireworks are illegal on federal lands. They start over 30,000 fires and send more than 10,000 people to the ER each year in the United States. 

Check federal, state, county, and city regulations before using fireworks. States, counties, and cities may have different laws and regulations, so a little research could save you the cost of an improper firework use penalty, or worse, the cost of fighting a wildfire.  

Consider safe, non-flammable alternatives such as glow sticks or silly string.

10. Burn debris with caution and never when it’s windy or restricted.

Crews burn debris piles to reduce the risk of summer wildfires and improve firefighter safety. Photo by J. Bofinger.  

Sometimes, people burn trash, leaves, agricultural waste, or other materials. 

If you plan to burn debris on your private property, check with your local fire authority to ensure there are no burn bans in your area, make sure you have water nearby (such as a garden hose), and never start a burn if it’s windy.

Once your burn is completed, be sure to mop up the ashes with water and stir all burned material. Wildfires often start from holdover debris piles that were not fully extinguished. This can happen days or even weeks after the debris was burned. 

And remember, not all fire is bad.

Extreme wildfires can be devastating, but fire also plays a natural and necessary role in many landscapes.

Firefighters light a prescribed fire at Rosendale Waterfowl Production Area in Wisconsin.  Photo by AJ Hoffman, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fire is vital for some plants and wildlife habitat. The diversity of plants and animals you enjoy on public lands can depend on fire.

Periodic low-intensity fire speeds up the process of forest decomposition, creates open patches for new plants to grow, improves habitat and food for animals, and delivers nutrients to the plants that survive.

The Interior Department uses prescribed fire in various ecosystems to reduce the buildup of vegetation that can fuel catastrophic wildfires. By effectively managing this fuel, we can decrease the risk of extreme fires while enhancing our capacity to safely and efficiently respond to wildfires. This proactive approach allows us to not only protect America's communities but also safeguard businesses, watersheds, and recreational areas that are vital to our nation's economic prosperity.

Learn more about prescribed fire and Interior’s fuels management work. 

*This is an updated version of a blog that was posted on May 15, 2023.