Don’t let summer end without having a campfire. Gather the family and plan a campfire. Nothing is as comforting and fun as roasting marshmallows over a warm, crackling campfire. Once everyone is gathered around the campfire enjoying Smores it’s time for a sing along or sharing of stories. Here are a few helpful tips with the assist of our KOA friends for having a safe and fun campfire experience. Most importantly only adults should light the fire. Be safe and create distance from you and the flames. No running around the fire and be smart and safe.
How to Build a Campfire
- CHOOSE A SAFE SPOT: The first step in building a campfire is finding a safe spot at a campground, your backyard, or in a fire pit. If in your backyard, choose large rocks and create a circle to contain the fire in the middle.
- CREATE A TINDER BED: Tinder is the smallest, easiest-to-catch materials used in building a campfire. Common types of tinder include:
- Cardboard strips or pieces
- Wadded up paper
- Wood chips or shavings
- Dryer lint
- Pine needles
- Dry leaves or grass
- Candle wax
- Commercial fire starters, sticks or bricks
3. KINDLING: Kindling is larger than Tinder but smaller than firewood. The most common types of kindling are small twigs or branches. Make sure your kindling is thin- if it is too thick, it won’t catch and will extinguish your small fire.
4. FIREWOOD: Firewood is the fuel of a fire, and the most important element of good firewood is dryness. For the best campfires, you want firewood that is completely dry-it will light easily and maintain a good flame.
5. SPARK OR FLAME SOURCE: The final thing you need is a spark or flame source. Knowing how to start a fire with just a few sticks is a valuable survival skill. However unless you have practiced the technique and are confident in your ability, consider using matches or a lighter.
Keep in mind that a fire needs three things to succeed: good fuel, a spark source and proper oxygen flow — even if you have great firewood and a lighter, if the pieces of wood are too close together, the flame won’t get enough oxygen and will quickly die out.
5. BUILD THE CAMPFIRE: After the kids have gathered the necessary tinder, kindling, and firewood now it’s time to build. These instructions are for a TEPEE or CONE shaped campfire. One of the classic fire shapes, the tepee or cone fire gets its name from the shelter it resembles. A tepee fire has a circular base with a wide diameter, letting in plenty of oxygen. Kids will love stacking the wood. To build a tepee fire, begin by laying down a large bundle of tinder. Next, use small pieces of kindling to form a tepee shape above the kindling. Light the tinder and as the fire grows, continue to add larger sticks to the tepee structure.
One of the benefits of a tepee fire is its easy maintenance — simply lean more sticks against the frame to feed the fire as it burns. Because a tepee fire burns through wood fast, it is generally used to warm up quickly or for small cooking tasks such as boiling water and perfect for roasting S’mores.
Make Kitchen Ink’s S’mores recipe & enjoy!