The warming blaze of a campfire is a simple pleasure and these days an underestimated one. Imagine yourself in pioneer times: a cold and lonely night, following a dark trail with only moonlight to guide you. In the distance you see and orange dot. As you draw closer you can see another group of travelers gathered around the glowing coals. They welcome you to join them. The settlers give you a hot meal and you're glad to get out of the chill and next to a warm, roaring fire. Back in those days if a person couldn't build a fire they wouldn't last very long on the prairie. Today, many people grow up in the city. Their experience with fire is limited to starting a barbeque once in a while. Some people find it frustrating to light a fire when they go camping, only to have it die out a few minutes later. They wake up cold in the middle of the night because the dancing flames they fell asleep to are now nothing more than a pile of charred, smoky logs. Building a fire requires a bit of know-how and a little practice. Fire-building skills will make your next camping trip more enjoyable. In a survival setting, they could save your life.

The first step to building a campfire is to remember the old admonishment: Be Prepared. There are many different ways to start a fire: butane lighters, flint and steel, drill bows, magnifying glasses or fire plows to name a few. It's hard to beat waterproof matches in a waterproof container. Regardless of which method you choose, be sure you're familiar with the method and have adequate supplies (plenty of matches or lighter fuel, for example). If you do find yourself in a survival situation, it would be very desirable to have a backup method to get your fire lit in case you use all your matches or lose your flint. In addition to an ignition method, many people bring some sort of material to get the fire going, such as paper dipped in paraffin or chemical "fire starters". A candle or regular dryer lint make excellent fire starters as well. The final consideration before you begin to gather firewood is any local restrictions on open fires. Many large forest fires have begun as small campfires, thus state or local regulations may ban campfires during particular times of the year. Ask your local park ranger or conservation officer for advice if you have doubts. It's always a good idea to keep a bucket of water nearby in case things get out of hand.

The second step in preparation is to set up an area for the campfire. If there's not a fire ring where you want to start your fire, you'll have to make your own. A ring of rocks or a dug trench will keep a blaze from getting out of hand (beware of river rocks, as the moisture they contain can cause a rock to explode when heated). If you want something easier to set up, Coleman sells a portable fire ring, or ask a neighborhood trucking company if they have any bent rims they want to get rid of. Clear an area of about ten feet around your campfire of any leaves or brush to prevent stray sparks from igniting an unwanted blaze. Also make sure there aren't any low hanging branches that could catch fire. Then it's time to gather wood. In a broad sense you'll need two sizes of wood (smaller twigs to get your fire going and larger logs to keep your fire going) but wood of any size in between is welcome as well. Gather only dead wood. Not only does the gathering of living wood hurt the trees, the wood doesn't burn very well. Start with thin, dry twigs to use as kindling; you won't need more than a healthy handful to get your fire going. Gather an armload of branches as thick as your thumb for the intermediate fuel and as many armloads of thicker logs as you feel like burning. These larger logs should be four to six inches in diameter and no longer than you can safely burn in your fire ring. If some of the wood you gather is damp you can stack it by the fire to dry it out.

There are a number of time-tested fire construction techniques, but they all boil down to the same principle. It's impossible to get a sturdy log burning by holding a single match under it. Tiny twigs will light easily with the same match. The idea is to build the fire gradually, starting with the smaller tinder and moving up to the larger logs. There really isn't a "best" way to do this, as people have success with many techniques. Piling the kindling in the center of a "tipi" of sticks is a popular method, as is the method of placing sticks perpendicularly against a larger log and igniting the tinder under that. A counter-intuitive method that works well is laying down a layer of logs in the center of your fire ring, and then stacking progressively smaller pieces of wood on the pile. Top it off with dry leaves or your fire starter and light it up. Regardless of the method you choose once the fire is going you can add your largest logs as the blaze starts burning down.

When you're ready to turn in for the night, bank ashes around the coals and over the top and they should still be warm enough in the morning to get the fire re-started easily. Coals stay hot long after the flames die down, so be sure your fire is out before leaving it unattended. Douse the fire with water and stir dirt into the ashes until the unburnt wood, embers and fire ring are all cool to the touch. Even a small ember could ignite a forest fire if conditions are right, so don't take the chance.

There's nothing like a campfire on a crisp summer night. With a little know-how and a little practice you can spend less time building your fire and more time cooking, keeping warm or simply gazing into it. Just remember to prepare, build your fire right and stay safe and you'll have many stress-free nights around a roaring fire.

-InstantAcres.Com Staff