Hot meals, s’mores still possible under fire ban
The first time I bought a propane camping stove, it was purely out of necessity.
It was summer 2020, and my roommate and I were days away from escaping our apartment where we had been sequestered and told to stay in place for much of the spring. With 48 hours til we hit the road to Irwin Lake in Crested Butte, Gov. Jared Polis issued a statewide ban on open fires as four different wildfires grew in different parts of the state.
Admittedly, we weren’t the most high-tech campers and we’d been planning to cook all our meals over a wood-fueled campfire. Truth be told, we had never done anything differently. So we frantically called every sporting goods store near Denver for suggestions and ended up purchasing a Coleman double burner propane stove.
Fire restrictions in Colorado can change on a dime and vary by county across the state. But if one thing has become clear over the last several years, it’s that fire bans are inevitable and increasing in frequency. As a result, recreators should be prepared to comply with them at a moment’s notice. That means having the right gear so you’re not breaking the law and endangering the state’s natural amenities.
Kimberlee Phillips, spokesperson for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, said local, state and federal agencies are constantly evaluating fire risk, weather outlooks, human risk factors and preparedness, among other factors, as they decide when and if to implement fire restrictions.
Fire restrictions are issued in stages, with stage one being the least prohibitive and stage three being the most prohibitive. On federal land, stage one prohibits burning wood or charcoal anywhere but Forest Service-developed campgrounds and picnic areas, as well as in anything other than a fire pit or grill built and maintained by the Forest Service, Phillips said. Under stage two restrictions, no fires whatsoever are permitted. (Under stage three, the forest service will likely close the forest, though that is rare, she added.)
There is an important exception: Flames produced by propane are permitted under both stage one and two fire restrictions. Another safe bet is anything solar-powered that doesn’t require a flame at all.
“Anything with a gas-fueled, on and off switch is allowed,” Phillips said. “So the little portable fire pits, petroleum-filled stoves or lanterns, any pressurized liquid fuel is allowed, as long as it had a shut-off valve.”
The moral of this story is that it pays to be prepared. So be sure to check online resources like coemergency.com to understand the fire risk where you’re headed and consider buying these essential items that will help ensure a fire ban doesn’t ruin your camping trip. experts recommend a single burner that is lightweight and energy-efficient, since you’ll have to carry the gas. Something like the MSR Pocket Rocket 2 ($49.95) is just 3 inches tall, connects directly to a gas canister and boasts the ability to boil 1 liter of water in under 4 minutes.
If you’re camping next to your car or have more storage flexibility, the aforementioned Coleman doubleburner stove ($74.99) is apt for cooking large meals. The brand, an outdoor stalwart, has additional sizes and designs, such as a hybrid grill and stove setup ($149.99).
And if you’d rather forgo fire altogether, consider a solar grill. Gosun makes several different products that use the reflection of the sun to cook food in what can easily be described as an air-tight, metal drawer. The smallest is the Go model ($129), which weighs two pounds and feeds a single person and the most popular is the Sport ($249), which feeds two people. The company also sells solar kitchen setups that feature its other products like a sun-powered cooler that makes ice. restrictions, so when choosing one to bring camping, you should consider the type of site where you’re staying and how many people are in your party.
If you’d like to shop locally, Lavabox makes pits out of military-style ammo boxes, which are both durable and waterproof. The company’s Tabletop Volcan-no ($195) is said to provide heat for up to six people, while its Krakatoa Firebreather ($345) can heat up to 10.
Other popular, campingspecific brands Camp Chef and Ignik.