How to start and build a campfire

A campfire is arguably the most iconic pastime when it comes to camping. However, a campfire can serve a greater purpose than roasting marshmallows or telling ghost stories. So do you know how start and build a campfire?

In a survival situation, knowing how to start and build a campfire can be lifesaving, from keeping you warm to alerting searchers of your position. For this reason, I recommend never going out into the wild without yourself or someone in your group knowing how to start, build, and maintain a fire adequately and safely. (Read my hiking solo article for additional tips when alone in the wild.)

But before we begin, there are a few rules you need to know.

1. Use established fire rings when possible.
2. Only burn downed, dead wood. Do not cut or saw limbs.
3. Do not burn plastics or aerosols.
4. Always extinguish a fire before bed or leaving camp.

Got it? Good. Take these rules very seriously, but exceptions can be made when it comes to survival situations. But with these rules in mind, let’s build a fire!

What you will need

Fortunately, you don’t need much to start and build a campfire. However, without proper knowledge you can make it much harder on yourself if not outright impossible to do so. Before we speak the theory of starting a campfire, let’s talk about what you need, which is:

• A fire starter
• Tinder
• Kindling
• Water

That’s it, yet there are many variations which can add a small degree of complexity. I’ll briefly go over these things so you will know your options.

A fire starter

To start a fire, you will need a spark. A fire starter is going to be what provides that spark. There are a variety of tools you can use for this, such as a lighter, matches, and a ferro/flint rod. 

Above all else, I recommend a lighter. They are easy to use and require the least skill. Matches can easily blow out with the slightest breeze and can be useless if they get wet (unless you have waterproof matches). And using a ferro or flint rod requires more skill and precaution as stray sparks can ignite unintended debris.

There are also bushcraft methods for starting a fire, but while these skills are useful to know, I recommend sticking to the above methods for ease and simplicity. 

For more primitive ways to start a fire, check out this article on thebugoutbagguide.com.

Tinder

Tinder is dry material that can easily be ignited with a spark and will burn hot and fast. Types of tinder include:

• Wood shavings
• Dried grass
• Dried leaves
• Birch bark
• Dryer lint

You will use your spark to ignite your tinder, then add kindling to begin building your fire.

Kindling

Kindling, like tinder, is dried material but is going to take longer to ignite. Small twigs up to sticks about ¾ of an inch in diameter will work as kindling.

Water

Lastly, you should always have water quickly available to maintain unruly flames. Building a fire in an established campfire ring should lessen the chances of a fire getting out of control, but under certain conditions, stray sparks can lead to a disaster. Plus, you will need water to extinguish your fire before going to sleep or leaving camp.

How to start a campfire

Now that we know our terminology and have everything we need to start and build a campfire, let’s talk theory.

Have you ever tried to ignite a small stick simply by holding a lighter to it? You probably would have been standing there a long time waiting. Or perhaps you’ve tried lighting your grill by throwing a match on the charcoal without accelerant (lighter fluid). Neither of these ideas work very well, do they?

This is because a material must get hot enough for it to ignite. According to fireengineering.com, wood needs to reach a temperature between 450- and 500-degrees Fahrenheit before it can ignite. While that lighter is pretty hot, you will still need to hold the flame to a piece of wood for longer than comfortable to get it to ignite.

Therefore, we use tinder; easily ignitable and burns hot, ultimately leading to a bigger fire — faster.

Selecting a tinder

There are many types of tinder, as previously listed. Collecting dry leaves and grass, crumpling them up to fit in the palms of your hands is simple. However, these materials can remain saturated for days after rain in a forest where sunlight hasn’t been able to fully penetrate through the foliage to dry them out. You won’t have much luck using this for tinder. 

For wet conditions, using a feathered stick is a better option. A feathered stick is a stick that has been shaved to produce thin curls resembling that of bird feathers. Even if the stick is wet, these shavings should be thin enough to still easily ignite. Note you will need a sharp edge such as a knife to do this.

You can also use thin bark off of some trees, like birch, which can be easily peeled in a strangely satisfying manner.

One last suggestion: Dryer lint. That’s right! Collect this from your dryer but instead of trashing it, stash some in your backpack to use as excellent tinder.

Igniting tinder

There are many ways to set up for starting your fire. One way is simply place your tinder inside the fire ring and then stack your kindling on top. Another way is to set two larger size branches on each side of your tinder inside the fire ring and use these branches as support for your kindling that you will lay across the two. Note your kindling should be just above your tinder.

Once you have set up where you will start your fire, you can use your spark to ignite your tinder. However, before doing so, be sure your kindling is ready.

How to build a campfire

You will need your kindling as soon as you ignite your tinder. Kindling is going to be small twigs and sticks ranging up nearly the diameter of your thumb. It needs to be dry and fallen. Do not hack or saw away at branches still on trees. Green wood does not burn easily and will be useless anyway when it comes to building a fire.

What I prefer to do is arrange my kindling into groups based on size: twigs, small sticks, pencil-sized sticks, pinky size sticks, thumb size sticks, small branches, you get the idea. To collect larger kindling, pieces that may be too large to break by hand, try wedging it between a branched tree trunk and push or pull in one direction.

After igniting my tinder, I will stack the twigs over the flames in a criss-cross pattern, then continue stacking the bigger sticks from smallest to largest (you can also stack your kindling over your tinder before starting your fire.) The idea here is that the tinder will burn long enough to ignite the twigs, which in turn will burn long enough to ignite the next largest sticks, and so on until the largest kindling is ignited. Add more tinder and kindling as needed to sustain the fire, and as needed, carefully blow at the base of the flames to give the fire extra oxygen to burn hotter.

At this point, your fire should be hot enough and have enough fuel to ignite larger pieces of wood. Keeping true to stepping up in size, place branches up to around 2.5 inches in diameter. With enough wood of this size, your fire should burn long enough to ignite some logs of at least five to six inches in diameter, possibly more.

Maintaining a fire

With your full-fledged campfire glowing, in order to maintain it, you will need to keep adding fuel. Any kindling you still have remaining, add it as needed. Keep larger logs readily available to add to the fire as well. 

If the flames are getting too big or you feel uneasy about maintaining it, douse it with water to help control the size. 

Also, periodically spread the embers around with a poker stick to help promote air flow under and around the burning wood.

Extinguishing a campfire

When you are ready to call it or night, or are breaking camp, always fully extinguish your fire. Have plenty of water on hand for this.

Initially, douse the entire campfire with water, targeting flames and glowing embers. When all the flames have subsided, use a stick to poke around the ash and overturn any remaining pieces of wood, then douse again. Repeat until the sound of sizzling water as it pours onto the fire ring is no more. 

Conclusion

There is a variety of methods for starting and building a campfire. The above is how I personally do it and I won’t claim it to be the best or most efficient way. However, it works for me and will be a good building block to get you started in making your own campfire. 

One last note: Remember to always use extreme caution with fire and be mindful of dry, windy conditions as this is a time to avoid fires altogether.