When staying the night in the wilderness, it is important to be knowledgeable in making a good fire for several purposes. These include protection against wild animals, warmth, cooking, and lighting in dark areas.

In this article, we shall be discussing the best way to light a fire and how to safely put it out. We recommend reading the tips below to ensure safety for you and your fellow outdoor travelers.

Creating a fire is not an easy process. Nevertheless, you learn and practice it so that you will no longer need to worry about fireless nights. Here are the steps in creating a campfire.

Fire Bed Set Up
You can start by selecting a fire site far from bushes, plants, and trees. The fire bed must be placed on bare ground and not on grass. Should you fail to find one, you can rake and dig the ground, eliminating all the dry plants.

Once you get a clear area, you can start making the fire bed. Gather dirt and put it in the center of the area. It should be at least three (3) inches thick.

Gathering Wood
There are three basic materials you must prepare for your campfire. These are kindling, tinder and lastly, fuelwood.

Good tinder establishes excellent campfire. Materials such as wood shavings, fluffy fungi, dry leaves, and grass can be used as tinder. Since tinder burns easily, you need a kindling to keep the flame going. You can go for small branches and twigs, having at hand a tomahawk or an axe would help a lot.

Fuelwood keeps the fire burning and hot. We recommend getting fuel woods that are not too big as it may take a long time to catch a fire. Branches that are similar to the size of your arms are better options.

Laying the fire
You may utilize four different methods when laying your fire – Teepee, Lean-to, Log Cabin, and Star. These fire laying methods are excellent ways to help you maintain your fire.

We recommend learning the methods of fire laying and select one that works better for you. With this, you are assured to get the best fire for your campsite.

Putting out the fire
As you finish with your fire, you may want to practice safety precautions when putting it out. Moreover, we recommend several steps to make sure that your fire is dead.

We recommend starting the task earlier as the activity takes a long time. Next, you can utilize water to shut it down but do not pour it. You can just simply sprinkle a little amount on the area. With this, you can still use it later on.

After you sprinkle water, we recommend stirring it using a shovel or stick. In this way, the ashes shall get wet. You can do a touch test to make sure that it is no longer hot.

You can dispose of the ashes to prepare them for the next camper. Lastly, make sure that you patch the ground up to replace the sod and dirt that you were able to dig.

We recommend you follow these steps to successfully create and maintain the fire in your outdoor site. With this, you can enjoy a warm and well-lit area as you spend the night in the wilderness.

We recommend practicing basic safety rules for a campfire. Every camper must know how to manage campfire to prevent potential dangers.

Here are some tips you should remember how to light a bonfire safely. It is suggested to pass it along on your fellow campers for their reference.

• Ensure that the weather is not windy or dry. It is not advisable to make your campfire during these conditions.
• Select an open location for a campfire. The area should be far from big fuel woods such as decaying leaves, brush or logs.
• Avoid creating campfires or diffing fire pits on prohibited areas. Fire pits are not allowed in certain areas such as archeological sites.
• Instead of creating a new fire pit, you can first look for existing fire pits.
  If there are no existing fire pits in the area, select a site that is far from shrubs, trees, tent walls as well as other flammable materials. You must stay away from low-hanging tree branches.
• Select a site that has protection from gusts. You can observe the wind and the direction it is taking before choosing an area.

These are just some of the things you must know on how to set a campfire. You must practice safety precautions in order to avoid accidents and injuries.

In case the fire becomes out of control, you must never panic. It is important to focus on the task at hand which is to safely extinguish the fire.

It is important to keep your fire in a safe area and never leave it unattended. We recommend putting it out before you go inside the tent and sleep. Here is a step by step guide on how to extinguish your campfire safely.

1. Bring an appropriate amount of water that can put out the campfire. Depending on the size of the fire, you must gather an amount that can completely extinguish it.
2. Wait for the wood used in the campfire to burn out completely. It should turn into ash that can no longer hold internal heat.
3. Apply an appropriate amount of water on the fire. There should be no more hissing sounds and the ashes are completely covered with the water.
4. Using a shovel, slowly circularly stir the remaining ashes.
5. You can then hover your hand on top of the area to check if there is still heat. Should you feel a hot temperature, you can repeat the previous steps until it is gone.

Before you lounge in your tent, you can first enjoy the warmth brought by the campfire. You can check out several options for the best family tents.

Campfires provide many uses from cooking to creating warmth on a cold night. It is essential to practice safety precautions when starting and shutting down the fire.

In case the fire goes out of control, you must try to put it out with an appropriate amount of water. You can check for heat and repeat process until you can no longer feel any hot temperature.