I turned them in to the ranger before they started a fire

[tomf]

On our way home from the lake yesterday we drove by our local nature park, out side of the main park are a bunch of trails by creeks and woods. At one of the day use areas a group was getting ready to camp and they had firewood piled behind a car. Due to fire danger there is no burning right now, and signs are posted everywhere. I turned the car around and stopped to tell them that they were going to camp in day use area, and that there were no fires allowed at this time. I said I live just up the street and I do not want them to start a forest fire so I am going to the ranger station and going to tell them what your doing. I did just that and a woman who lives near by also pulled in to inform the ranger at the same time. The ranger said she would deal with it and call the sherif as well. I saw the guy with the firewood that I talked with in front of his car, and told him the ranger has been informed and the sherif had been called. Campfires are only allowed in designated spots right now; I guess rules and common sense are for everyone else and not some people. My wife as so worried that she drove back down to check on them, and she found their cars were gone.

[tomf]

The park is about 2 miles away from our house, if you head due west the ranger station is the closest neighbor, so there is nothing but woods between us, so I think I had a good reason to worry. There are houses on the road up from the park they would be North West from us. I have made fire buffers around the house and this are does not have much of a forest fire history like east of the Cascades, but one should be smart and not take chances.

[PaulF]

Good for you. As an old guy now living in the mid-west, I grew up in Oregon (first Lakeview and Forest Grove in the 50s). Forest fires were and still are a danger to be feared. The huge Tillamook Burn area was still in recovery at that time from the fire of the 30s. I spent a lot of time in the forests as a kid hiking and fishing with my Dad. He was a teacher but worked summers for the Forest Service and had to fight fires every once in a while.

[ElizabethB]

Good job. Wish more people had the guts to report things that they see.