How to Start a Campfire: Step-by-Step for Beginners
I’ve started fires in rain, snow, and 60 mph winds. The technique matters more than the weather. Here’s the method I use every single time.
Here’s my take: fire-making is a skill, not luck. Once you learn the teepee method, you’ll never struggle with a damp match again.
What Materials Do I Need to Start a Campfire?
Three components: tinder (dry grass, birch bark, cotton balls with petroleum jelly), kindling (pencil-thin sticks, 6-12 inches), and fuel wood (wrist-thick logs). Ratio: 10 parts tinder, 3 parts kindling, 1 part fuel. A ferro rod (Ultralite 2.0, $12) works when matches fail.
What’s the Easiest Fire Building Method?
The teepee method: arrange kindling in a cone shape over tinder, leave a small opening facing the wind, light the tinder through the opening. The flames self-feed upward through the kindling stack. Takes 30-60 seconds to establish.
How Do I Start a Fire in the Rain?
Find dead standing wood (inside is dry even when outside is wet). Split it with a hatchet to expose dry interior. Use a cotton ball with petroleum jelly as waterproof tinder (burns 5 minutes). Build a lean-to shelter over the fire with a flat rock or branch.
How Do I Safely Extinguish a Campfire?
Water, stir, water again. Pour water over the fire, use a stick to stir ashes and exposed wood, pour more water. Repeat until the hiss stops and the ash feels cool to your bare palm. This takes 2-3 minutes and 1 gallon of water.
Full safety coverage in our Camping Safety & Survival Guide.
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