High Sierra Topix

When I get to an established camp I usually remove two plastic grocery bags of ashes, and dispose of discretely, and remove the usual aluminum foil for packing out. That way I figure I am not adding more ash to a fire pit.

When I'm cross country and I come across a fire ring that lightly used (like once) I usually take the time to dismantle it before moving on.

There have been cases where an area had a number of fire rings but I just built a new one. One example is when I stayed at that odd camp site on Whitney Creek. Not sure if that is some old hunting camp or something but the main area with the structures showed signs that fires had been broken up in the past which I wasn't sure why. When exploring the whole area I found some other pits in random areas that did not offer any good camping. A couple of them had been filled in with more rocks for some reason. So I did my typical thing of selecting the best site and sitting on the cut downed tree made into a seat and stretching out my legs to note the optimal location from the seat to place it. Then I rolled some cut logs in the area by it for seats. Pretty much turned it back into a major camp site. Maybe some people don't like that but considering there is a metal box and some sort of cooking platform with concrete in it and a large table pretty much makes the area as disturbed as possible.

I wonder what Jimr said that would make anybody believe he was policing fire rings

I used to (like, 20 years ago or so) use fire rings, but have never built one.
I guess I've broken some up, but it wasn't so much in the attitude of destroying it as it was making things look a bit more "natural" - especially if was crudely made, recently made, or long since "abandoned."

To echo what some people have said - if you do it right, you don't need the ring. Though, if done right, it makes a good break alongside all the other precautions (clearing duff, etc). Luckily, I was trained properly as a child, and can make small, hot, purposeful fires that when extinguished, are easily covered/spread/removed.

But since getting back into nature, I've abandoned all usage of fire. It's just not worth it. Sure it glows, it warms, it soothes some ancient emotion....but its just too dangerous now. And after last year? Forget it. I still take all my emergency fire-starting equipment, but it's for just that - emergencies.
I'll admit that my first fireless trip was kind of a bummer. Something was "missing." But since then, it's fine. I'll live. The only real effect is that I don't have much of a desire for cooking fish in the backcountry anymore. Smokey, peppery trout was such a treat, it just doesn't have that same "flavor."

So, as for illegal - it's pretty much anything now. Folks can easily go without now that there are amazing lamps and stoves and water filters.

I think I went nowhere with all this.