Kudos to Nick for finding it, I missed it, didn't even see that there was a site back there.
That fire took a lot of water to put out because the whole ring was hot, all the rocks and old stuff in the ring. We saw a lot of fire rings that were filled with dirt and half burned wood. This stuff elevates the fire which defeats the purpose of the ring. It took a lot of water, stirring, and then covering it with rocks so the wind couldn't pick up anything we might not have drowned.
When we go dispersed camping we bring a rake and just knock one side of the ring away, rake out the center and then spread it with the stuff around the ring (we rake out a couple of feet around it, the boyscouts programmed me early). It's a lot easier than shoveling it and you get to set the ring correctly before using it, plus having the fire low behind the rocks makes it burn better and more completely.
I'm going to bring a rake an shovel from now on and clean out the rings that are cold. If we run into one after that it might make it easier, or just make it easier for the campers to get it out. I wish we had a shovel with us this time, lucky we had the water. It was tough to do stuff by hand in the hot ring, I think welding gloves might be a good addition too.
Next time two water jugs, welding gloves, a rake and a shovel.