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Build and put out a small campfire
90 min · About $5 · Ages 8 and up
Grab first
- Matches or a lighter (adult only)
- Dry tinder: dry grass, small twigs, paper bark
- Kindling (pencil-thick sticks) and a few wrist-thick pieces of firewood
- A bucket of water and a shovel, close at hand
- A fire ring or a pit with a cleared area around it
Fire safety: read this first
- Check for burn bans and fire restrictions with your park or local fire department before you light anything. If a ban is on, skip this plan.
- An adult lights and tends the fire. Never leave it alone, even briefly, and never leave children alone with it.
- Keep water and a shovel next to the fire at all times. Keep hair, sleeves and shoes away from the flames.
- Build away from tents, overhanging branches, dry grass and leaves. Use only a fire ring or cleared pit.
The steps
- Check the rules and the weather
Check for local burn bans and fire danger. Look at the wind. No fire in strong wind or in a ban, and if in doubt, don't.
- Pick the spot
Use an existing fire ring or a pit with a cleared area. Look up for low branches and around for tents, dry grass and leaves. Set the bucket of water and the shovel next to it.
- Gather three sizes of wood
Collect a pile of dry tinder, a pile of pencil-thick kindling and a few wrist-thick fuel pieces. Dead, dry sticks that snap are best. Keep them away from the fire until you're ready.
- Build in layers
The 1911 book says a fire needs kindling and air. Make a small pile of tinder, lean kindling over it, and leave gaps so air can pass under and through. Heavier sticks go on after the kindling catches.
- Dad lights it
Dad lights the tinder at the base. Everyone stays back. Feed the fire slowly with small sticks, then bigger ones, and keep it small. A small fire is enough.
- Let it burn down
Stop adding wood well before you want to leave so it burns down to coals. Never leave the fire while it burns.
- Put it out: drown, stir, feel
Pour water on the coals until the hissing stops. Stir the ashes with a stick so everything is wet, and check under any rocks. Hold the back of your hand just above it. Keep going until there is no heat.
When it goes sideways
- If the fire won't catch, there is probably too little air or the wood is damp. Add more tinder and open up the gaps.
- Kids tend to pile on wood. Let them add one stick at a time.
- Soak more than you think you need. Dirt on a hot fire can hide coals.
Read the full plan and its sources. Source dates stay with the plan; these are practice ideas, with no claim of a real-world test.
Try next
- A first campout in the backyard · Overnight
- Living-room campout · Overnight
- Build a family emergency kit together · 60 min