Camp Fires The Art of Making Fire

This article is about how to make a safe and enjoyable campfire. What are the right tools to use and how to use them? What is the right wood to burn and where to get it? It covers the dangers and things to look out for. How to trouble shoot problems and solve them.

Tools The best campfire woodcutter is a saw, (bow saw is best) collapsible ones for backpackers, canoers and bikers.  Second, a firm fixed or folding blade knife to make shavings if necessary. Gloves for safety in the case that the saw blade skips the track or grove. Axes and hatchets are very labor intensive, you can cut three times more wood with a saw than you can chop with an axe. Axes are very dangerious, but are useful for splitting small logs but be careful, as this is where a lot of accidents occur.  Think, where the axes is  going to be after you swing or the log has splits. The safest way to split wood while camping is to place the axe blade on top of the piece your going to split and hit the top part the flat headpart of the ax with another log about the size of a baseball bat.  Tap your blade in at first the hit it harder until it splits. 

 Safety first, you should have water close by and a shovel. Chose your location carefully, clear all flammable material to a save distance, 5-6 feet from the outside of where you will make a fire ring.  Check the ground; do not build a fire on very mulchy ground as fire can travel 20-30 feet under ground and resurface up to  a day or two later.  Build a fire ring on level ground with rocks, dirt, or sand, even wet wood. Plan your fire ring so that the inside of the ring is 4-6 inches from the outside of your fire.  Keep fires small or petite no larger than 18 inches. The bigger the fire the more wood you will need, remember this is suppose to be fun not labor intensive.

Never build a fire in strong wind conditions. Know what the forest fire level is, and act accordingly. Never leave a campfire unattended.  Always put out your fire before going to sleep or leaving your campsite. Douse with water and shovel dirt over fire then more water till no smoke.  If a thunderstorm is approaching, put your fire out as quickly as possible or shield it.  The wind of a storm will blow hot embers as much as 100 feet, 2 to 5 feet off the ground.  Think - What is down wind, woods, a dry field, your tent, or your neighbors tent – this isn’t going to be good.

Do NOT CUT limbs off of GREEN TREES OR GREEN TREES as this is defacing the campsite and or the forest. They will not burn.

 Gather or bring fire-making materials, dry twigs small, med and large. Then sticks like small sticks (3/4 -1") to larger sizes. Finally, wood from small (1 1/2") to med size (2 - 4").  Remember: Green or live wood will not burn well and just make a lot of smoke at best.  Your best wood is dead wood on the ground or bring your own.  Do not be afraid to look up in the trees as there might be some dead wood up there. Dead wood in trees is uaully dryer after a rain. Also note: campground rules as they might forbid any cutting of standing trees or their limbs. If no kindling is available, split down your firewood to smaller pieces with your hand axe or hatchet. Use caution, as this is where most camping accidents happen, think about what you’re doing and the possible results of your actions before hand.  Like, where is that axe going to be after the wood splits or if you miss?  Even if your 99 percent accurate, that 1 percent may end your outdoor adventure and start a whole new one in the emergency room. You can shave down some of them with a knife for quick start shavings or twigs.  Having some dry paper or small pieces of cardboard are helpful.

 There are two ways to set your fire.

First is Teepee style.  Put your paper or shavings down first making sure you have an air hole in which to light your fire. Then start building your teepee with small twigs then larger ones and finally small sticks. Light your fire from the down wind side, it will burn to the wind without blowing out.  After it has caught and your sticks are burning nicely start placing larger sticks to your tee pee then smaller firewood. As coals to develop add your larger wood.

To See Fire Making Video Click Here  

The second way is the pyre method.  Do your paper and shavings the same. Place two large sticks or wood on both sides of your fire starter several inches form the starter.  Make sure that you have enough air space from your fire starter to the first twigs, usually an inch or two. Start placing twigs in a box formation across the center about a half-inch apart.  Criss cross each layer smaller to larger till you get to small sticks making sure that there is room for the fire to burn thru to the top once it catches. Light your Fire.  Then add smaller wood first, and then add larger sticks as your fire burns,

 Hint: Real low or no flame but lots of smoke means it needs more air. Make an air hole and blow gently, two or three or more after flame reappears.  Or your twigs, sticks, or wood are wet or damp or green. The best bet is start over with dryer stuff.

 Hints: Other Quick Start ideas, Tee Candles (place in center of fire as a starter), commercial Fire Sticks, dryer lint, dry leaves, dry bark (do not strip bark off live trees it won’t light and kills or harms the tree), a lump of self lighting charcoal, or cotton mixed with petroleum jelly.  Do not use flammables like gasoline, kerosene, charcoal light fluid, lighter fluid or any other liquid flammables.  These produce an instant near out of control fire and a possible flash back to you.  Remember, you are just making a little campfire not making self-sacrifice.

 Cook fire: Stick or fire wood about 1 inch thick is best and about 10 -15 pieces.  Burn your wood down to coals then place your grill about 3-5 inches over coals for most cooking or grilling.  Do not cook over open flame as this smudges up your pots and pans (possibly damaging them), and over cooks (burns) food.  Always have extra cook wood, sometimes you need more, and half way thru cooking is not the time to gather and cut more.  If your going to roast a turkey- just kidding.

 Fire in the rain or other wet times.  A low or small fire under a tarp is ok, check out wind direction first and be sure your tarp is at least 4 or more feet above tallest flame, (remember small fire).  This is not the best time to build a burn a witch fire. While it is fun to poke at the fire, this is not the a good idea now as sparks will rise and burn or melt holes in the tarp.

As for wet firewood, just a little more work.  All the same stuff as before, either method is fine. The difference is you have to dry your wood.  To get starter shavings, shave off the wet bark and until you get to dry shavings. Shave extra, because they are going to be doing double duty. With a lighter, candle, or matches slowly dry (not burn) about 6-12 assorted twigs and some small sticks 6. Build your fire and light it.  As it lights start drying your other twigs and sticks then fire wood.  Keep putting dry twigs and sticks on to keep the flamage and build small coals. You can lay future firewood around your fire ring to start drying.  Plan ahead and maybe start drying twigs, sticks and wood for your next fire.  Especially if, the wood will still be wet out in the woods.  Also remember, a lot of smoke means wood might be still too damp.  Fires in the rain are nice as they provide a sense of warmth, seem to lessen the feelings of dampness and gives you something to do. 

The last fire topic: Artful Fire: While campfires basically are mood setting and a functional cooking media, they can be entertaining and even romantic.  Pretreated pinecones soaked and dried in various chemicals like Aluminum or Copper sulfide produce colors, driftwood sometimes does the same especially salt-water driftwood, and small well dried trimmed up seasoned stumps make flames dance about, as well as artful limbs cut to size or shape.  The ladies love artful fires. Let your imagination go, as you have some time on your hands.

Article by Chuck Milburn    MyCampfireOutfitters.com     Email   campfire1292@aol.com

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Chuck Milburn