Checkout the previous Mindful Camping article here.

Vol. 3 – The Multiple Terrifying Effects of Campfires on the Environment

It’s not just effects on natural land and water that campers need to be mindful of while outdoors – there’s the air to take care of as well. New Zealand is blessed with beautiful, clean and pure air that we’re famous for throughout the world – yet another resource that not everyone is so lucky to have.

Campfires are pretty, but they also emit a bunch of CO2 upwards into our beautiful clear skies. We all know what severe air pollution looks like, and while New Zealand is thankfully very far removed from the complete air quality degradation seen in parts of the world, these places do serve as a reminder of the realities CO2 emissions can have on the atmosphere – relevant to us in particular due to the hole in our ozone layer. Fireplaces in households throughout New Zealand are required by law to be low carbon-emission certified for a reason :-)

As well as causing air pollution, campfires are a genuine (and really terrifying!) fire hazard – forest fires cause devastation to both land and life all around the world. We see New Zealand’s fire danger signs pointed to ‘Extreme’ in places all around our country every summer – and as we’ve unfortunately experienced, they’re at the maximum for a reason. High temperatures, a lack of rain and the resulting increased flammability of grass, shrubs and trees mean that we really are at a pretty severe risk of fire. You can check out New Zealand’s fire risk outlook for this year here.

Because of this very real hazard, Twisted Frequency enforces an absolute fire ban for the full duration of the festival. We care too much about our Twisted family and our environment to put either at risk of this kind of danger. This is something we take (and enforce) very seriously – anybody seen making any kind of campfire will be immediately removed from the event. We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage you to refrain from lighting fires (outside of designated areas) for the duration of your travels – it simply is not worth the risk.

So, there you have it – campfires are the scariest, most potentially devastating threat that camping poses to the environment (and people). The implications of a forest fire are gigantic – we won’t allow them at Twisted Frequency, and we encourage all of our other mindful campers out there to seriously consider the implications before starting a fire outdoors. This just about wraps up our Mindful Camping article series – keep an eye out for our closing article next week, and stay safe and mindful Twisted (and non-Twisted) family!