By Shreya Ghoshal
Whether you want to roast some s’mores or lounge under the stars, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to start your best campfire ever!
Growing up exploring national and state parks and forests with my family, I spent countless evenings by the firepit, perfecting the art of building the best campfire. Through trial and error, I’ve discovered the best strategy to build the hottest, long-lasting campfire. With the proper materials, setup, and execution, you can have your own flame-tastic campfire in no time.
Step 1: Gathering materials
When creating the perfect fire, 4 materials are necessary: fire starters, quick burners, planks and branches, and firewood logs.
Fire Starters
Fast-combusting materials are a great way to create a large flame to start your fire. I like using old newspapers and recycled thin cardboard. Used paper plates, discarded after a campfire dinner, are also great burners that help reduce your camp waste.
Quick Burners
Extremely flammable organic materials are crucial to starting your fire. These especially come in handy in damper conditions, when the rest of the wood has become wet. Thin, wispy sticks from my willow tree and dried-up fronds from my palm tree are my favorite quick burners.
Planks and Branches
Medium pieces of wood help spread fire to the large firewood and increase the overall inner heat of the fire. Old fence planks and 2-inch wide tree branches are ideal.
Fire Wood
The final ingredient for starting your perfect fire is the wood itself! Once these logs begin combusting, your hot, long-lasting fire is right around the corner. These thick, chunky pieces of wood can be purchased from grocery stores, general stores, or directly from your camp host.
Step 2: Setup
Once you’ve gathered your materials it’s time to prepare the fire. Form a triangle by laying 3 pieces of firewood flat, placing only one end of the wood on top of the next piece, to create a sort of tight, intertwined look. Then, generously fill the center hole of the triangle with quick burners as well as a couple of small planks and branches. Next, place 3-4 thick planks or branches across the log triangle, similar to the crisscross crust of an apple pie. Sprinkle some more quick burners and your fire is ready to start.
Step 3: FIRE!!
Now that your campfire is properly prepared, the final step remains: start a fire! Tightly twist your firestarter into a thin, long piece and light it on fire using a lighter. Make sure to light the tip of the quick burner farthest from you, holding it vertically to stop the flame from spreading quickly while you hold it. Then, advancing from any gaps underneath the wood triangle, insert the firestarter directly into the center of your fire step. Starting the flame from its core will establish a hotter fire, due to the creation of embers in the center as burned pieces of branches break away. The difficult but crucial part of this step is landing the firestarter at the very center bottom of the fire, under all the layers of wood. The firestarter will immediately encounter the quick burners, instantly creating huge, but short lived, flames. These flames will burn the next layer above, your thick planks and branches which will burn for much longer. The planks and branches then transfer the heat and fire to the large firewood chunks. Once your firewood begins burning, you are set. With some simple upkeep by stirring your fire occasionally and dropping in new planks and branches occasionally as the original ones turn to flaming members, your campfire is ready to burn bright all night.