Before you decide on future camping trips, it is better to get useful camping tips from community campers. The availability of fire is essential during the camp as it is needed to cook food and help keep everyone warm.
Learning how to make a fire outdoors is necessary and is a basic outdoor skill that should be learned by every enthusiast. If you are wondering how to camp without a fire and if it is possible, the answer is yes. It’s important to note that due to environmental laws, some campsites and parks now prohibit the building of fires in some areas. This is meant to prevent brush fires and minimize pollution in the area. Before you go camping, do check if the place you’re going to allows fire or not.
Anyway, going back to the subject of how to make a fire.
- Do It Safely
- Check for branches and dry bush. Never build a fire near bushes or where the tree branches are hanging low to prevent it from getting caught by the fire.
- Always build your campfire in a fire pit or ring. Building a fire inside a pit or a ring will keep it safe. Making a fire on sand or gravel is better as it prevents from damaging the soil.
- Never leave a fire unattended. When you are done with the fire, pour water on it to extinguish the fire, make sure there is a glowing ember, and don’t leave it unattended.
- Choose the Best Firewood
How to make fire correctly includes what type of wood to use, what will be the structure to keep it burning, and how to ignite it.
- Dry wood is better when making a fire, and knowing what type of wood to use makes the task easier.
- Tinder: These are usually tiny pieces of wood, moss, leaves, or needles that are best used to start the fire.
- Kindling: These are chopped woods or small sticks making the shape of the fire.
- Fuel: These are usually large pieces of wood or logs to keep the fire burning.
You can usually find firewood on the campgrounds, which are fallen branches. Other campers bring wood pallets and planks which are used in construction, which are coated in chemicals. So make sure to have it checked with the fire ranger before bringing them into the campsite.
- Four Ways to Make Fire
Every campfire should have a structure, piling the wood close together will make the heat concentrate but make sure that there is enough space for oxygen. No matter what structure or style you choose, you have to start the fire with tinder, followed by kindling, and if the fire is stable enough, you can add fuel.
- How To Make A Parallel Fire (Log Cabin):
The parallel structure looks like Jenga without the middle pieces. Two pieces of wood should be placed parallel to one another, and between them are tinder and kindling. Add another piece of wood perpendicular to the base, forming a small wall. Ignite the tinder and start adding new piles of firewood as the fire grows.
- Making The Platform Fire:
This structure commonly has a solid base, which is similar to parallel style campfires. Start the base with four pieces of firewood laid alongside one another. Next will be three pieces of wood arranged perpendicularly on top of the base. Followed by another two pieces perpendicular to that layer and ignite the fire with a tinder placed on top of the base.
- The Starburst Fire:
To make this starburst shaped campfire, the kindling should be placed criss-cross over the tinder.
- Building A Campfire Using The Teepee Method:
Arrange the sticks leaning together in the center, forming a cone or tepee. Place the tinder inside the cone and continue adding the firewood vertically to sustain the fire. Tepee method is ideal for cooking, while the log cabin and star-shaped are great for long-lasting fires.
Conclusion
Whether you are a camping expert or just beginning in the camping world, learning how to start a fire is a vital skill you should have. The most important part of the campfire is choosing the right style. Learning these four different methods will help you decide what style to use for a particular purpose. Just remember that once you are dealing with fire, safety should come first.
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