Gathering around a campfire is a quintessential part of any camping trip. However, it’s also one of the most dangerous parts. See my post here for more tips on Keeping Kids Safe Around a Fire. In this article, I’ll cover how to build, maintain, and properly extinguish a campfire.
Building
Fire safety starts with building a fire in the right environment. Get your camp and fire set up for success by starting with these tips.
Tip #1: Only build in a metal fire ring or stone fire pit. Never light an uncontained fire. That is, never light a fire in the open. Most campgrounds and dispersed camping areas have steel fire pits or stone fire rings at your site. Please build your fire in one of these.
Tip #2: Build 10′ away from any dry fuels (grass, trees, overhead branches). If you’re building your own fire pit (or even setting up a portable propane fire pit) be sure to build it 10′ away from any dry fuels. This includes grass, trees, and overhead branches.
Tip #3: Store firewood upwind of fire and 10′ away. Winds often change directions quickly. If you don’t want to move your firewood every time it does, just keep it at least 10′ from you fire pit. In all reality, you’ll want to keep it further back, especially if you’re going to be chopping wood. Fires are gathering places, no need to swing an axe that close to them.
Tip #4: Don’t bring firewood in, buy locally or use deadfall. This started a few years ago as best I can tell. Land managers don’t want campers bringing firewood from home or from outside the area because you could unknowingly transport harmful pests like mountain pine beetles into a new area. Instead, buy firewood locally, or if allowed, gather deadfall at your site.
Tip #5: Gather tinder and kindling. Tinder is small, dry, fuel used to get your fire going. Dry grasses, moss, or small twigs no thicker than a pencil are ideal. Kindling is larger, about the thickness of your thumb, and will allow the flame from your kindling to grow larger and larger.
Tip #6: Place your tinder at the base of a small teepee. There are several different types of fires you can build. The most well known is the teepee fire. Place tinder in a ball in the center of your fire ring then lean the longer pieces of kindling against one another to form a tepee.
Ignition
Now its time to actually light your fire. You can use a variety of techniques to do this. For survival experts, there’s the old fashioned way–creating embers form friction by rubbing sticks together. But I’ve seen enough episodes of Alone to know this method is both time consuming and potentially unreliable. I prefer matches or a ferro rod to get your fire going.
Tip #7: Pack some dryer lint from home in case kindling is scarce or wet. Dryer lint is very flammable and will burn for a long time (that’s why its so important to clean your dryer vents at home folks!). You can also pack a cotton ball covered in Vaseline for a long burning base for your fire.
Tip #8: Apply flame to the base of your teepee. Heat rises so the flame will spread from the tinder up the kindling easily. Once the kindling lights you can place thicker fuels on top build your fire.
Maintaining
The sun is setting and the family is starting to gather around the magnificent (but safe) fire you’ve built.
Tip #8: Build the fire up, then spread it out. Lean medium logs together to form a larger tepee. The larger the teepee, the taller the flames. Keep the flames about 1-1.5 ft tall. If it starts to get too big, spread the fire out within your fire ring. Lay the logs down or push them to the edges. The thinner the fuel is spread, the lower your flames will get.
Tip #9: Never leave a fire unattended. Don’t ever leave your campsite when a fire is lit. And make sure when its time to leave you’ve extinguished it properly. More on this below.
Tip #10: Don’t use accelerants like gasoline. The fire will very easily leave your fire pit. I’ve seen this happen in person. A friend poured gasoline on a fire (against our advice) and the fire traveled up the stream of gas, right back to the gas container, catching the sleeve of his shirt on fire. He dropped the gas can upright, thankfully, and the fire continued to burn the escaping vapors at the spout. If the gas can had kicked over, it would have been disaster.
Tip #11: Don’t put foreign objects in. I’ve also seen this in person: pinecones tend to pop and explode in fires. Don’t put them in there.
Tip #12: Use a fire glove to reposition your logs. Softwoods like pine burn quickly. You don’t want to burn through your entire bundle in the first hour, then have to put your fire out or search the dark woods for more fuel. To increase the longevity of your fuel, reposition the logs occasionally, turn them so they burn evenly, then lay them flat or spread them out. Of course, be careful doing this. Use a good leather fire glove and be careful not to lean over the open flames.
Extinguishing
Always, always, always properly extinguish your fire before leaving your site.
Tip #13: Spread the coals out to slow the burn. Spreading the coals laterally within your fire ring reduces their ability to hold heat.
Tip #14: Pour water on your fire. Be careful, this will cause popping and steam if your fire is still very hot. Pour it all over the fire.
Tip #15: Stir with the wet coals with a shovel. Again, spreading the coals out will reduce their ability to hold heat. Pouring water on them and stirring them with a shovel will ensure that water contacts and extinguishes the coals from all sides. A folding shovel works well for this and is easy to pack.
Tip #16: Add dirt to suffocate. You can also add dirt to a fire to suffocate it.
Tip #17: Don’t leave until the coals are cold. So start extinguishing long before you plan to leave! Add more water and stir as needed.
Campfires are great for bringing the whole family together to unwind from a long day of outdoor adventures. Just make sure to stay safe around them!