# Fire caused by pooping cyclist **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 24, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055 "2015-07-24T14:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/1 "2015-07-24T14:20:48Z")
[Story](http://www.ktvb.com/story/news/local/2015/07/23/blm-pooping-cyclist-started-foothills-fire/30584071/) The fire burned 73 acres in the Boise foothills. > [@](#): > > According to BLM spokeswoman Carrie Bilbao, a man was cycling in the foothills when he stopped to defecate in a ravine. Afterwards, the man tried to get rid of the waste by lighting his toilet paper on fire. The man apparently tried to bury the burning waste to extinguish it, but an ember spread to nearby dry grass. > > \ > > “We’ve had this before, actually - it doesn’t happen very often - but when people have to go, um, they will often burn their toilet paper just as kind of an environmental concern, to not litter, basically, but in these fuel types, it’s not a good idea,” Bilbao said. I was hoping it was extremely spicy food coming out that started the fire. But the SO is still laughing about the real cause. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/2 "2015-07-24T14:29:32Z")
Hmmm…I thought the credo was “Pack it in, pack it out”–not “Poop it out, burn it up” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/3 "2015-07-24T14:39:22Z")
I usually just drop a rock on the pile. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/4 "2015-07-24T14:47:38Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Hmmm…I thought the credo was “Pack it in, pack it out”–not “Poop it out, burn it up” 😃 Yep. But feces is biodegradable. Toilet paper returns to the Earth pretty quickly too. One evacuation is probably not a great coliform bacteria risk to the water. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/5 "2015-07-24T18:01:17Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > I usually just drop a rock on the pile. Or throw some dirt or sand on it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/6 "2015-07-24T18:25:42Z")
IIRC, the SOP when I was in Boy Scouts was to dig a small hole to some minimum depth (8"?) do your business in the hole, and bury your TP in the hole along with it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/7 "2015-07-24T19:12:39Z")
Anybody catch the name of that Mexican restaurant? I _gotta_ try that burrito! ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/8 "2015-07-24T19:19:23Z")
I love the smell of burning feces-stained toilet paper. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/9 "2015-07-24T19:51:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The fire burned 73 acres in the Boise foothills. Seventy-Three Acres!? Thank Og it wasn’t explosive diarrhea. We could have lost Boise, Meridian & Hidden Springs too!!! You know usually when we think of Bilbo and that much scorched earth there’s a dragon involved. But Smaug? In Idaho? Nah… ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/10 "2015-07-24T19:53:50Z")
while we’re on TMI, on short hikes, we just bring a large ziploc for the paper. The whole hole thing bears examining. (And, yes, I know what bears do) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/11 "2015-07-24T20:18:04Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > (And, yes, I know what bears do) 😃 So do the [rabbits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mFf5B5qEX4). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/12 "2015-07-25T18:51:04Z")
I know they say to light a match after you poop but setting a forest fire is a bit extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/13 "2015-07-25T22:03:51Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Hmmm…I thought the credo was "Pack it in, … That’s something else entirely. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/14 "2015-07-25T23:22:28Z")
“When you gotta go, you gotta go” ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/15 "2015-07-25T23:57:29Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I love the smell of burning feces-stained toilet paper. All day or just in the morning? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/16 "2015-07-26T01:09:57Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I love the smell of burning feces-stained toilet paper. That reminds me… I saw a circular that said Elizabeth Arden gives out these zipper bags at MACYs when you buy a lot of their perfume during “gift days”. If only those hikers had packed one in their gear… ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/17 "2015-07-26T15:38:35Z")
The classic tome \*How to Shit in the Woods \* recommends a procedure delicately called “frosting a rock.” Basically, you find a rock surface exposed to direct sunlight, and use a tool (flat rock, stick, whatever comes to hand) to spread the “frosting” into a layer thin enough for sunlight to penetrate. UV radiation is efficient at killing bacteria, and will quickly neutralize any danger. Stylistic concerns are a matter of personal taste. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/18 "2015-07-26T23:45:27Z")
Note to self: Don’t touch any brown rocks in the forest. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/19 "2015-07-27T00:36:06Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > The classic tome \*How to Shit in the Woods \* recommends a procedure delicately called “frosting a rock.” Basically, you find a rock surface exposed to direct sunlight, and use a tool (flat rock, stick, whatever comes to hand) to spread the “frosting” into a layer thin enough for sunlight to penetrate. UV radiation is efficient at killing bacteria, and will quickly neutralize any danger. Stylistic concerns are a matter of personal taste. Yeah, but do you have any idea how hard it will be teaching all the bears to do that? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055/20 "2015-07-27T02:38:21Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > The classic tome \*How to Shit in the Woods \* … This just made me choke on my evening allergy pill. Well done! [You can also buy the book via Kindle!](http://www.amazon.com/How-Shit-Woods-Edition-Environmentally/dp/1580083633) (I just downloaded a sample.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-caused-by-pooping-cyclist/726055.md?page=2)