Locations for stoves and fireplaces on forest 

 camp and picnic areas should be selected to 

 meet the following requirements: 



A. Easy accessibility to tables, cooking utensils, and 

 parking spurs (especially true in camp units) (pi. 

 XXVH). 



B. These units should not be nearer than 10 or 15 feet 

 from trees, and should under no conditions be under 

 any overhanging branches which might be injured 

 by smoke or heat. 



C. Adequate provision for a convenient working space 

 around the cooking unit, and an adequate storage 

 space for wood and other supplies close by the cook- 

 ing unit. 



D. The cooking unit should be so located that during the 

 heat of the day the necessary shade may be pro- 

 cured, if the recreation area is in a section of the 

 country where shade is desirable. In sections of the 

 country where the sun is desirable, then the cooking 

 unit should be located accordingly. 



E. The cooking units should be so located that, under 

 conditions of normal prevailing winds, the smoke, 

 casual sparks or heat will not be blown into the tent 

 or across the table. It should be noted that in some of 

 the mountainous country the prevailing morning 

 breeze is opt to be in a different direchon from the 

 prevailing evening breeze. 



F. The unit should also be so located that in the higher 

 altitudes and more open exposures where excessive 

 wind may be expected at certain times of the year, 

 the unit can be so protected that excessive draft will 

 be avoided and the fuel consumption reduced 

 accordingly. 



Extreme precaution should be taken in order 

 not to damage the roots of existing trees, 

 especially the more shallow rooted types. 

 Unless the fireplace is properly located, con- 

 siderable damage may be done to the roots of 

 existing trees by the concentrated lye which 

 leaches from the ashes. Injury may be done to 

 the roots by the intense traffic over any root 

 areas. It is very desirable that the unit be 

 located so that the prevaiUng wind will not 

 carry the intense heat into the foliage. 



On some campgrounds in parts of the coun- 

 try similar to those of northern Montana and 

 northern New England (in the White Moun- 

 tains) the necessity for sunlight is equally as 

 important as for shade in the southerly areas 

 which experience intense heat. Sunlight is 

 important in some areas in the early morning 

 and, therefore, the ideal location for the camp 

 stove and table is one which receives sunlight 

 during the morning hours. 



On recreation areas which are close to the 

 lake shore, the stove or fireplace should be so 



oriented that the opening will be toward the 

 lake, from which direction the prevailing breeze 

 usually comes. In locations protected from the 

 wind at all times, such as in heavy timber, the 

 question of orientation is not important. This is 

 likewise the case with camp stoves of the high- 

 chimney type, where the chimney provides the 

 natural draft. 



In the fireplace type, especially those types 

 which have a chimney-notch effect, and in 

 those types without a chimney but with one end 

 closed, it is most essential that the opening to 

 the firebox be directed toward the prevailing 

 wind. A very careful study should be made of 

 the prevailing wind and the extent to which it 

 is constant in any one direction during any 

 definite time of the year, in order to orient the 

 fireplace accordingly. 



On most campgrounds, the automobile is the 

 family larder, and for this reason there is con- 

 siderable traffic between the camp stove and 

 the automobile. The distance between the 

 camp stove and the parking spur should, there- 

 fore, not be so great that inconvenience will be 

 experienced in going from the stove to the car 

 (pi. XXVII). 



The cooking unit should not be located where 

 there is excessive wind exposure, and this is 

 particularly true in areas which have a con- 

 siderable fire hazard. 



On some picnic areas designed for group 

 picnics, it may be desirable to have the stove 

 or fireplace in multiple units as shown on plates 

 XIII and III A. The multiple units may be lo- 

 cated at one or at both ends of the picnic area. 



FIRE HAZARD 



Whenever one seeks the forest as a source of 

 recreation and has occasion to build a fire for 

 cooking or for warming purposes, he imme- 

 diately creates a fire hazard. This fire hazard 

 may be very small upon the more open areas 

 where the types of vegetation are not dense or 

 of a kind not readily inflammable. On other 

 areas the fire hazard may be very great, 

 especially in the large types of evergreen timber 

 and in arid sections where extremely dry 

 weather prevails during the hot summer months, 

 which include the period of heaviest recrea- 

 tional use. In the forest areas where duff and 

 humus are on the ground in any amount, it is 

 very important that sand or gravel be spread 



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