How to Light Up a Dim Night

Historically, it can be said that fires have been very destructive. Wild fires have wiped out homes, buildings, and forests. They continue to be a problem to this day due to accidents, natural disasters, and the negligence of those who only attempt to create a simple campfire. However, a safe fire that is set up as described below can significantly improve the social environment of a group. The following instructions combine precise safety with entertainment. When reading this you will not learn how to manage a boring and wimpy little fire, but one that provides an atmosphere that makes nights spent outdoors pleasant and memorable.

First, make sure you have all of the materials needed. The most obvious and crucial is something to light the fire with, either a lighter or matches. The requirements for all other materials are more flexible, since flammable material can be found almost everywhere. It is recommended to have something to place as the base of the fire. This can include anything from an official fire starter, to a balled-up paper consisting of the report cards you’ve been hiding from your parents. You need enough pieces of wood to supply the fire, depending on duration and size of your desired fire. All sizes of firewood would be needed ranging from small twigs, also called kindling, to logs weighing 20 pounds. Unless you’re planning on staying there until the fire completely burns out, or you’re at a beach and have access to sand, bring enough water to put it out. Some people, who do not have this necessity, may believe that they have consumed plenty of beverages between them and their friends that they have enough internal fluids to put out the fire. This is not always the case, and those who believe it’s okay often put themselves in hazardous situations by doing so. Most importantly, don’t forget to bring marshmallows, gram crackers, and chocolate to make smores!

The next step is to find a suitable place to set up the fire. This needs to be an open place where the fire could not easily spread to its surroundings. What many people forget is the fire’s potential height. Even though the flames might not, and hopefully will not, reach the height of an average person, smoke released from it can intensely heat up tree branches above it. They can then be easily caught ablaze by a simple spark. Because we don’t want to be the cause of a fire similar to those recently heard about on the news, I would strongly urge you to wisely choose a place that has only empty space for about 30 feet above it. Another condition to be aware of when choosing the place would be the direction and strength of the wind. Unless you are anticipating the fire to get out of control, I would recommend that you use common sense when picking the location of the fire’s base. If you are hesitant about the location, try to think of the worst possible settings along with friends and then compare them with your selection. As long as there is a reasonably large discrepancy, your location is probably fine.

After picking a suitable place for the fire, start assembling it from its base. Situate the ball of paper filled with horrible grades where you want the base of the fire. Place about a handful of kindling around the paper, forming a cone-like shape. Next, add increasingly larger pieces of wood. As more wood is added, the set up should look more and more like a cone. Once the pieces of wood reach about three inches in diameter, leave the larger pieces to the side until the fire is lit, so that it does not suffocate. Fires need enough space and oxygen in order to work just as we do.

Light the paper to get the fire started. Try to light it from several sides so that the entire paper catches fire. If the flame is having trouble spread to the wood, give it some air by either blowing or fanning from the sides. If it is steadily growing then just wait for the flame to reach the outer branches. After this happens, add a reasonable amount (around five) of the larger pieces and leave the rest about six inches from the fire. This allows them to heat up so they can catch fire easier once added. Once the fire has reached your desired size, form a circle of rocks about one foot around it. This will prevent the fire from unexpectedly spreading to unwanted areas for the most part. However, this doesn’t justify leaving it unsupervised.

Now that you have successfully created your own campfire there are only a few easy, but important, things left for you to do. First off, say goodbye to those report cards, or whatever was on that unwanted paper. Supervise it so that it doesn’t surpass your ability to control it. Restrain the size of the flames by regulating the amount of wood. Lastly, get ready to enjoy and accompany your bonfire with roasted marshmallows, story telling, and lots of laughter.