We stopped making campfires with wood on this trip. (Hope you were not thinking we meant the other kind of smoking 😉.)

Everyone loves sitting around a campfire, especially us. There’s just something about watching the flames and feeling the warmth of the fire on a cool evening while enjoying an adult beverage that is fun and relaxing.

We have been moving away from wood fires for a while. The first issue is smoke. According to the EPA, outdoor recreational fires can become a considerable source of fine-particle air pollution. Smoke from burning wood is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particle pollution.  We have camped in locations with hundreds of other campers, all trying to burn wood in poorly designed fire pits. The smoke has driven us to take refuge in our RV.

A second reason we have stoped burning wood is that the transport of wood from camp to camp has spread invasive species such as Emerald ash borer, Gold spotted oak borer, Sirex woodwasp, Gypsy moth and Asian long-horned beetle, and diseases, such as Sudden Oak Death. We witnessed groves of spruce trees decimated in Canada by spruce beetles when we visited New Brunswick. Many states and provinces ask campers not to transport wood. And while you can still buy firewood locally, why put all that carbon into the atmosphere and generate smoke?

Finally, fire bans are, sadly, a regular occurrence in the west where we travel, and wood fires are prohibited during these bans. In the US wildfires resulted in the loss of more than 10 million acres in both 2020 and 2022. We can tell you firsthand just how heartbreaking it is to see groves of destroyed trees throughout the US and US National Parks such as beautiful Crater Lake.

For 2024 travels we are now using an Ignik fire can and a refillable gas growler for our campfires. We have a nearly instant campfire with no smoke or odor. The flame is adjustable and with the ceramic moon stones in the pit, we experience an intense radiant heat from this fire pit.

The fire pit is compact and quickly cools down when we are finished with the fire, unlike a wood campfire. No more waiting hours for the fire to go out completely and the solo stove to cool down. This fire pit meets CSA 2.41-2014/ANSI Z21.97-2014 standard for outdoor decorative gas appliances.

Now that we are carrying a refillable 5 lb. gas growler, we no longer need to carry and dispose of one pound propane bottles. Disposable propane bottles are not easily recyclable and millions are disposed of every year. We also use the gas growler to fuel our outdoor camp stove which is a nice plus.

What about fire bans? Many locations permit propane fires even when there is a fire ban. This varies from location to location, so be sure to check before you fire up.