Tips on Building a Good Campfire

Camping is one of the greatest pastimes for anyone who enjoys the great outdoors. Whether you enjoy hiking, cycling, fishing, mountain climbing, hunting or orienteering, a solid camping trip will always center around the camp itself. Of course, anyone who enjoys camping understands the importance of the campfire, the source for heat, cooking and general enjoyment.

There is something mesmerizing about fire, something that no one can truly describe or understand, but for thousands of years fires of all sorts have brought people together to congregate around the friendly orange glow for community and enjoyment.

Constructing a campfire seems simple enough, but it can be surprisingly tricky to someone who does not understand the dynamics behind combustion and fuel. When I reference fuel, I do not refer to gasoline or other flammable liquids or gases, but wood and other flammable solids.

As elementary as it seems, it is important to always remember that fire and heat rise upward and are always controlled by the wind. Fire requires oxygen to carry out combustion, which is basically the force behind sustained ignition. If a fire does not have an adequate oxygen intake, it will smother and go out. As well, fire and water do not mix. I am not sporting with your intelligence, but a lot of wood can be damp or otherwise too wet to ignite when placed over a fire, and can often times smother or smoke out the fire itself.

It is extremely important to understand different sizes and flashpoints of fuel used in a fire. Tinder consists of loose grasses, pine needles, shredded paper or newspaper or other small, easily-ignitable solids. Tinder is often replaced by matches, which allow the next largest fuel, kindling, to be ignited without tinder.

Kindling is the general building block for all fires. Kindling is larger than tinder, but still quite small. A good example of kindling would be small twigs and small sticks pulled off a larger branch. Kindling should be gathered together and ignited with tinder or matches. However, a common mistake that can destroy a fire is placing too much kindling too fast on a small fire, essentially smothering the oxygen intake.

Once the kindling is ignited and the flame sustained, fuelwood can be applied. Fuelwood is a general term referring to any wood larger than kindling that will burn for more than five to ten minutes. The size of fuelwood should match the size of the fire. For instance, a campfire that has only just ignited its kindling should not be fed a large split log or railroad tie, there is not near enough strength in the flame to ignite such large fuel.

Thus it is important to gauge the size of your fire and continue to feed it gradually larger and larger fuels. Start with sticks roughly one inch in diameter and steadily increase diameter. Eventually your fire will be able to support large tree branches and full-size logs.

Now let's now focus on different styles of campfires with their pros and cons.

Tee-Pee Fire

The Tee-Pee fire is one of the simplest and most timeless structures employed in fire building and is ideal for igniting a long-lasting flame. These fires are very straightforward and easy to build. By leaning sticks together in a cone shape, flames will ignite the tops of the sticks and burn downward, spreading the fire out to provide a platform for larger fuels to be added.

If building a fire on dirt or loose soil, it is advisable to plant the sticks into the soil at an angle so that the small fuel is free-standing, allowing you to position starter fuel without the Tee-Pee collapsing. The easiest way to build a large starter fire with the Tee-Pee is build concentric cones, with the smallest kindling in the middle and rings of larger kindling in outlying rings. Using this structure, smaller fuelwood can be built around the kindling, essentially killing two birds with one stone.

Log Cabin Fire

When the Tee-Pee begins to burn through and collapse, it is best to move onto a Log Cabin fire. The Log Cabin is also a simple structure that really consists of logs, whether large kindling or any size of fuelwood (again depending on the present size of the fire), built into a square formation. Laying two logs in the same direction, then laying two more on top of them at perpendicular angles, and so on.

The easiest way to transition from a Tee-Pee to a Log Cabin is to begin laying wood in a Log Cabin formation around an already-burning Tee-Pee. Thus when the latter fire begins to collapse, it will already have begun igniting the Log Cabin.

Essentially, the Log Cabin is a structure that can last for the rest of the fire, regardless of duration.

A-Frame Fire

Due to collapses and weaknesses in the wood a Log Cabin will not always be a perfect square but the general format can be followed: stacking the fuelwood rather than leaning it against itself. Thus an A-Frame structure can result. An A-Frame is basically a Log Cabin shaped like a triangle rather than a square, hence the A-shape format.

Log Cabins generally offer a better transition into a larger fire, but the A-Frame can act in the same way. Allowing larger wood to be stacked on the fire, A-Frames can help contain a fire in a specific area, effectively fencing in the flame.

Lean-To Fire

The last common fire structure is the Lean-To. This fire is built by placing a large log on the ground and leaning kindling and small fuelwood on it, making a lean-to structure from the ground to the top of the log.

Although the Lean-To is a not a very reliable structure to build a fire, its principle comes in handy in another function. As said earlier, wet and damp wood will not burn very well, unless placed in a very large and very hot fire. However, by leaning wet and damp wood near or against a well-burning flame can steadily dry it out and allow it to be burned later, whether for the current fire or another.

So, while the Lean-To is not comparable to the strength and effectiveness as a Log Cabin, it is the perfect medium for drying out damp wood for later.

If a specific part of the fire is not lighting well, it is recommended that a large piece of card-board or other rigid object be used to aggressively fan the flame towards the un-lit area. Of course, if this is done too hard it can knock over or put out the fire, but if done correctly it can greatly assist in lighting and building the flame.

Finally, once a fire has been burning for about fifteen to twenty minutes red-hot to white-hot coals begins to collect in the center. This core is extremely hot and represents the hottest area of the fire. Truly white-hot coals can ignite almost any fuel placed on it within seconds. These coals are ideal for cooking over, whether with a cast-iron Dutch Oven or otherwise.

Overall, campfires are a great way to spend an afternoon or evening for enjoyment, cooking and getting rid of brush and clutter in woods, whether your own or around your campsite. These are the essentials to fire building and will work in most any environment. Happy burning!