How to Build a Campfire
We have all seen while flipping through the channels, a common Hollywood take on a concept that most of us rarely question; A frantic adventurer fleeing from some kind of horrible entity (bad guy, bad weather, bad screenwriting...etc) bust into a shelter of some sort and hastily finds two sticks to rub together and before they can cut to commercial, a warm and cozy fire has emerged to save the day. For anyone who has found themselves in the woods with night fast approaching, you would know the simple truth that it really is a bit more difficult to start a fire without a props department.
Not all fire-making situations are equal though, some are quite easy and some are very difficult. But with a working knowledge of how flame is born as well as a few tips and tricks, you can figure out how to build a fire in nearly any situation. So let’s break it down to the elements and go from there.
SAFETY
A quick note on safety; when doing anything with a fire please keep the means to extinguish it nearby incase it gets out of hand. There is nothing worse than when the flame you have worked so hard to produce ends up destroying the environment you came to enjoy. Also fire is, how do I say this, pretty darn hot. It can and will burn you if given the chance. Clothes are flammable as is most of your gear. Even the most skilled outdoor specialists burn the you-know-what out of themselves from time to time. So please boys and girls, be careful.
ELEMENTS
There are three basic elements to make a fire. They are air, heat, and fuel. Sounds simple enough, but these elements can sometimes be a bit more elusive to keep all in one place than you might hope.
PLACEMENT
The first thing to decide is where to build a fire. Most campsites have a designated fire ring that is almost always the best bet. However if you do not have a fire ring handy, there are a few things to keep in mind. The first thing to look for is an open area. Don’t make a fire near tents or other flammable structures. Once that is established, brush the area several feet beyond where the fire is to be built clear of leaves and other debris that can ignite. You may want to set up a fire ring out of stones if the area allows for it. Once we have our designated fire area figured out, let’s get this thing burning.
AIR
Let’s start with air, oxygen to be specific. It is seemingly plentiful and it is by far the easiest to come across but there are a few lessons to keep in mind here. Try to fight the urge to pile on the sticks until you have an impenetrable wall of wood shielding the flame. If light can’t get through, air will have a hard time as well. Leave spaces for the fire to breathe. I often dig a small trench beneath my fires to allow for good air supply. Flames use up an astonishing amount of air, this is one of the many reasons you never want to have an open flame in a tent. If there is some wind passing through your campsite take advantage of it and build your fire in a way that allows it to flow through the flame. This will increase the heat but will also burn up wood faster, so adjust accordingly. Be careful with fire and wind, a gust can carry a spark to an unwanted place and can do unthinkable damage. The key to air is creating flow. The goal here is to get plenty of air to enter into you fire through the bottom or sides, reach the flames, then exit out the top. It’s just that simple.
HEAT
The second element is heat. This is pretty basic and obvious. The most common way to introduce heat to a fire would be with a trusty match. Keep plenty of them and keep them in dry protected places, you will need them to stay in really good shape! A cigarette lighter is also a good option. They are light, durable, mostly waterproof, and cheap. They are a bit less safe, the biggest thing to remember is where it is in proximity to the flame. I learned the hard way once while on a campout as a kid. I used a cigarette lighter to lite a tiny fire and set it down next to me. As I continued to build the fire I didn’t realize it was getting closer to the lighter until WOOOSH! A sudden fireball left me with a minor burn and a lot less leg hair. Now as soon as I’m done with the lighter, I set it back in my bag. Other more primitive methods such as flint strikers and even a magnifying glass can work with practice. As far as rubbing sticks together, I have pulled it off a few times just for fun. However, the amount of skill, ideal conditions, and infinite patience it requires make it a bit more of a novelty than a practical method. However some folks like the challenge and have made it an art form. I urge you to research it and give it a shot. It is a cool skill, I’m not going to lie. Me, I’ll just pack extra matches in a watertight container.
FUEL
The final and probably most difficult hurdle for those of us in need of a fire is fuel. Fuel (or wood) can come in countless shapes and sizes and what type and amount of fuel you need will greatly change depending on the environment and where you are in the fire making process. Let’s start with what fuel shouldn’t be. Try, like with every ounce of your being, to not use liquid fuels to start a fire. Never do it, not even a little bit. Look no farther than the plethora of online videos of cheery folks blowing themselves up or causing severe burns and permanent scars for reasons of why liquid fuels are a really bad idea. Yes, I know charcoal lighter fluid exists and can be used safely. But that is in the confines of a grill, not in the forest. Let’s keep all of our hair from getting singed and move on.
TYPES OF FUEL
There are three basic types of fuel for a campfire they are tinder, kindling, and fuel. Think of this process in separate stages that are “stepping up” the heat and size of the fire until it can catch the main fuel (ie. large logs) that will allow the fire to self-sustain so we can finally go grab the marshmallows.
Tinder is really anything that can be easily lit straight from a match. This can be dry wood shavings, dry leaves, tissue paper, etc. The role that tinder plays in fire-building is small but crucial, to take the flame from a match or lighter and burn long enough to ignite the kindling. Tinder is the category where we also find the exciting and very broad industry of fire starters. These nifty contraptions are often cheap and simple solutions to getting a fire going in a wet situation or where tinder is hard to come by. Most of them are a mix of paper or wood packed together with flammable wax. I’m not a purist, but I generally only use fire starters if I am in a bind and can otherwise not get a fire going with reasonable effort. I recommend not getting too reliant on store bought fire starters since they might not always be around. Plus there are plenty of natural alternatives that are free and readily available.
My personal favorite, is the humble pinecone. After they have released all their seeds, fallen from the tree, and are dry and nature’s perfect tinder. They are easy to light and burn for quite a while to allow time to get the rest of the wood lit. Another good tinder option is dry tree bark. This can be a bit tricky, but with practice can be a reliable source of tinder. The best bark would come from a dead tree that has already fallen and one had light flaky bark that is thin and can be lit easy. A small pile of this will burn well and do the job just fine. Another good source of tinder would be dry wood shavings. These can be produced by carefully running a knife along a larger branch and shaving off light thin pieces of wood that can be easily burned. These are just a few of countless options but should be a good start to accomplish the next task.
Now that we have our tinder sorted out it is time to track down some kindling. Kindling is small bits of fuel that are too big to be lit with a match, but can’t burn long enough to sustain our campfire by themselves. Kindling can be many things but more often than not, it is small branches and twigs. Usually not much thicker than a pencil, kindling has the job similar to the tinder, of burning long enough to ignite the fuel. Getting the kindling to ignite can be a trick in itself and may take a few tries. Keep in mind that smaller twigs ignite easier and in turn light larger ones so remember this when you stack the kindling onto your tinder. Another thing to remember is that you may be surprised by how much kindling you need to ignite the fuel, so collect plenty… then a little more after that.
Once the tinder has lit up the kindling so that it is burning well, it is time to start burning the main fuel. This is usually branches, logs and other pieces of wood. As with all the other types of fuel we have been using, it is important that it is as dry as possible so it will catch easier. Don’t let the term “main fuel” fool you, we aren’t going to dump a bunch of huge logs straight onto our fire. We have to continue the gradual process to get to that point. This means sticks about the thickness of your thumb. Once they are lit, I like to put a small log near the outside of the fire so it can start to ignite as I continue to throw larger and larger sticks and branches on it. After a little time and attention, you will quickly have a warm and sustainable fire that will be easy to maintain and will keep you warm throughout the evening.
WET WOOD
As you may imagine, this entire process becomes far more difficult when the wood is wet. Accept the fact that it will take much longer and far more effort to get a fire going. You will find yourself going through great pains to find anything dry and flammable that will get your fire started but I promise it is possible. A few things to keep in mind when making a campfire in a wet condition: It is going to take more fuel, a lot more. The rule of thumb is to gather about four times more fuel than you would need for dry conditions. The reason for this is that the fire must now work harder and longer since it will have to dry out the fuel before it can ignite. Once a flame has started, you will have to carefully stack kindling and other fuel over it so it can heat up and evaporate the water completely before it can burn. Also, dry wood can be found in odd places. Look in areas with thick undergrowth for tree branches that have fallen but have not made it all the way to the ground. Any wood that is not sitting on the ground is going to be much drier than wood that got caught in a tree on the way down. The dry wood is out there, it is just tricky to find and there won’t be as much of it as you might have hoped. But it is possible to have a fire even in wet conditions. You will just have to persist and be patient.
You should now have a good understanding for how to wow your friends next time you are on a campout and need to produce a warm fire out of any condition that everyone can enjoy!