These are the Ontario Rules and Regs - note the difference between "fire season" and "Restricted Fire Zone" (i.e. fire ban off or on)


"The Regulations deal with the use of stoves and installations during the fire season (April 1st to October 31st) and during Restricted Fire Zone periods. Use the following as your guide:"

Campfires:

You can enjoy a campfire during the fire season provided it’s built on bare rock, soil or other non-combustible material. Your campfire must be at least 1 metre away from any flammable material; at least 3 metres away from any overhanging vegetation and your campfire cannot exceed 1 metre in diameter and 1 metre in height.

Campfires are prohibited during a Restricted Fire Zone. The only exception is in an organized campground and only if the campground owner/operator decides it is safe to do so. In these situations, strict campfire rules must be adhered to. Your campground owner/operator will provide you with the rules when campfires are allowed.



Portable Gas, Propane or Naphtha Stoves:

You can use your portable gas, propane or naphtha stove anytime during the fire season, even in a Restricted Fire Zone, provided the stove is at least 1 metre from any flammable material. The stove must also be designed to use gas, propane or naphtha and you must be able to extinguish the flame by a control valve or by closing the stove.



Portable Wood Burning Stoves:

The stove must be at least 1 metre from any flammable material
The stove must be designed for cooking or providing warmth
The stove must be made entirely of non-combustible materials
The ashes and coals produced through burning must be completely extinguished and safely disposed of before the stove is moved

Charcoal Installations (BBQs, Hivachis, etc.):

You can use your portable or permanent charcoal installation during the fire season provided the installation is at least 1 metre from any flammable material and the ashes and coals produced through burning are completely extinguished and safely disposed of.

You can continue to enjoy barbecuing during a restricted fire zone provided you are in an organized campground and the owner/operator decides it is safe to do so, or you are barbecuing within 100 metres of a dwelling that you occupy (i.e. summer cottage, camp, home).



Outdoor Wood Burning Stoves and Wood Burning Furnaces


Anyone who uses an outdoor wood burning stove or wood burning furnace anytime during the fire season must ensure the following regulations are met:


The stove or furnace must be at least 5 metres from the forest and at least 2 metres from any flammable material
The area surrounding your stove or furnace at ground level must be non-combustible material extending for 2 metres in all directions
The stove or furnace must be designed for cooking or warmth; made entirely of non-combustible material; enclosed on all sides and have working spark arresting devices on all vents and chimneys


You can continue to enjoy the use of your outdoor wood burning stove or furnace during a Restricted Fire Zone provided it is within 100 metres of a dwelling that you occupy and you meet the above mentioned regulations.

SO,

The way I read it, only a gas/naptha stove or a propane/canister stove can be used when there is a fire ban.  The only exception for a wood burning stove is if it is within 100 meters of a dwelling ( I assume that does not include tent) and has spark arrestors, etc as per the above.

Note that the rule on "completely enclosed and have spark arrestors on all vents and chimneys" is in effect during fire season, as well as restricted fire zone - so it sounds like that is a requirement for anytime during the summer.  So while a campfire does not have to have a spark arrestor on vents, a stove does - at all times - may not be logical, but that's what it says.

Seems to be blank of any mention of alchohol stove, but typically, if something is not expressly allowed, then it is not allowed.  Probably ok except during a fire ban, but maybe not.

carry a small stove on the trips i plan, but i don't recall the last time i used it. i've been on trips where a stove was used sometimes intermittently and sometimes a lot-i find that i much prefer cooking over a fire, especially when with a group and cooking multiple courses. i'm a believer in eating full cooked meals at the beginning and end of the day and have never had the schedule set back by campfire cooking. i campfire cook when solo also.

when in camp, we always have an old beat-to-heck percolator sitting on the edge of the purcell trench to keep hot. hard to do with a stove.

FWIW - You can bring in cans and bottles that are not food or beverage. For example, a can of gas or an aerosol can of Off is allowed.

DentonDoc wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2009 at 4:40am:


That's a good point. Same goes for the little alcohol stove I made tonight out of some empty PBR's. I guess one could argue that it's not a "can" in the sense that it's useless for carrying anything, and is more of an essential piece of reusable equipment?

The other potential issue is during fire bans... I suppose a wood-burning stove wouldn't exactly meet the "acceptable" criteria?

All of that said, I'm actually impressed with the little PBR can stove I made. It's a simpler design than the actual "penny stove," and it burned for 10 minutes on approx. 1/4 oz. of Heet for fuel.

Akula wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2009 at 3:48am:


I wonder how Quetico park officials would react to a "can" stove ... since cans are banned from the park.   

I even had one question me about my container for shoe-string potatoes, as I consumed them at an entry point ... the cardboard tube has metal end-caps ... as the park official said "that's a can!"

dd

Well, I may have solved my problem, anyways. I don't like carrying stoves or fuel, but stoves are pretty darn nice for "quick" stuff, like coffee in the morning or boiling a few cups of water for the freeze-dried stuff during a lunch stop.

I don't know how this works yet, but the idea has some potential. Apparently, you just load it with short, pencil-size dry twigs, and let it burn from the top down. The holes in the bottom suck air up through the middle, allowing for a hot and efficient primary burn. The angled holes along the top rim are supposed to help burn up the excess gases (and thus reduce soot, and allow for a hotter and even more efficient burn).

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A handful of smaller twigs can be collected anywhere enroute, and stored in the pack until used, staying dry and ready. No extra emissions or any other side effect of fossil fuels, and it's made from a recycled can and some extra tent stakes. When it breaks, I can still recycle the can, and simply make a new one.

I don't know how well i works yet, but perhaps I'll try it out in the next week or two. It's not as pretty as the one pictured in the link, but then, neither is anything else that comes out of my garage. I guess we'll see...

I don't think the discussion is about whether or not to have a fire, but rather whether you cook on a stove OR a fire OR both.

I do almost all my cooking on a stove, but certainly enjoy having a fire for warmth and ambiance.

I can't imagine camping and cooking without a fire.  I lived in GA for some time and I couldn't imagine camping in the summer. We always go to MN canoe country late season, and when there isn't a fire ban.  Half the fun is keeping warm by the fire and cooking on the fire grate.  The only time we use the stove is heating up soup to warm up at lunch time.

starwatcher

I agree with Firechief: "In my opinion part of fun of camping is having a fire to set around and talk about the days events and any other topic that may arise.  So you might as well cook on the fire as well. "

Even solo, I like having a fire so I figure I might as well cook over it.  However, I always bring a stove and don't hesitate to use it.  Mostly for wet weather or when I'm just too pooped to collect wood and build a fire.

I have two friends that even want a morning fire, so when they are along I cook breakfast on the fire as well.  Otherwise I make breakfast on the stove.

Long live the fire!!!!!

In my 50 plus years of camping, I can only recall 2 times that we went into the park with a stove and that was because of a fire ban. I hated it.
On both of those trips after we had extended rainy days, we went back to cooking over the fire.
We gather all of our wood from along the shoreline on the way to camp.
Cooking over beaver wood is quick, easy and clean. I can boil water as quick as most stoves and fish just ain't fish unless it is cooked over a fire.
As stated earlier, cooking over a wood fire is becoming a lost art. We come into so many campsites and wonder ????? what the heck were they thinking when they wrecked this perfectly good fireplace????
It appears that fewer and fewer fireplaces in the Q are setup with cooking in mind.
Anyway, I learned from my Grandfather who started going to the B & Q in 1915. He taught us grandkids how to build and tend a fire for different purposes. It is something that we all take a lot of pride in and have passed that on to our kids as well. Kind of a little competition to see who can have the nicest fire.
Kind of a minimalist approach, but, why bring another "modern" contraption to the wilderness???  ( Just kidding, kind of. )
GeneM