It's always advisable to geocache with certain items. The "Ten Essentials" is a good starting point. This is the third of a series of caches that will cover the ten essentials.
FIRE
"The Ten Essentials" were first identified by The Mountaineers in 1930. They were updated in the early 2000s and now include Ten Essential "Systems":
1. Navigation (map and compass)
2. Sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen)
3. Insulation (extra clothing)
4. Illumination (headlamp/flashlight)
5. First-aid supplies
6. Fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles)
7. Repair kit and tools
8. Nutrition (extra food)
9. Hydration (extra water)
10. Emergency shelter
They even have a cool limerick to help you remember the essentials, and it has nothing to do with a man from Nantucket…
“The Mountaineers Ten Essentials Limerick”
By Steve McClure
To navigate, head for the sun,
With first aid and knife on the run,
Bring fire and shelter,
Extra food is a helper,
But water and clothes weigh a ton.
"I, HAVE MADE, FFIIRREE"! I can still hear Tom Hanks proclaiming that at the top of his lungs. Of course, he did it by rubbing two sticks together in some dried coconut husks. If I did that, I’d pound my chest and yell too.
For most of us though, it is much simpler than that. Strike a few matches. Use a lighter. Even a flint and steel shaving sparks into a cotton ball. The first two can get wet or run out of fluid. The last, a little rustic, but very rewarding. Almost as if rubbing two sticks together.
Fire is used for a host of things in an emergency. Setting a signal for rescue (thought don’t do that in California these days). Bear Grylls can tell you anything caught in the wild tastes better grilled as opposed to raw or stewed. In a pinch it can even keep you warm, especially if you heat up the rocks surrounding it for a few hours than place them near your sleeping bag. Just make sure you have some WATER to put that fire out, too.
Sorry to place a micro on the woods, but the container you are looking for (properly equipped) should be part of your essentials.