Making a fire outdoors? Follow these tips

Most non-outdoorsmen doubtless believe that all of us outdoor folks can build a fire under any circumstances.  That's often not true. A classic case in point happened when I was visiting at Mohican State Park's campground one late fall. As I drove around the campsites I saw two men in their 40s standing around a fire ring next to their camping trailer. They had two logs together teepee-style, in the ring that were at least 12 inches through. The pair doused the logs with gasoline, lit them, watched the flames go out, and tried again while I parked across the road and watched. They did it until the gas ran out, then started using Coleman lantern fuel. When I left they still didn't have a fire going.

I taught a week long survival course in my biology classes for years in the woods behind our school, and fire making was just one aspect. In each class of 25-30 sophomores and juniors there were rarely more than one or two that could build a fire, and these were usually farm boys. Why is fire so important to an outdoorsman? At best, fire can be a real comfort on a bitter day of deer hunting or fishing, and at worst one can save your life. It's really a simple process.

When I build a fire on hunting, fishing, or camping trips I start by clearing a good area of anything flammable, then make a small circle of rocks. In that circle I place a fire starter, add tiny dry branches above, then slightly larger branches above these, then larger ones still with more firewood close at hand once the little fire has caught well. Simple. For fire starters I often carry a 35 mm film canister with a tight cap, filled with cotton balls soaked in lighter fluid, and a second canister with large kitchen matches broken off to fit inside.

I've often used a small key chain rod available in almost any sporting goods store that can be scraped with a pocket knife to make sparks and start fires, or even a lighter of some kind. If I have no cotton balls I've used dry grass as a fire starter, or even dry leaves, or a business card from my wallet or once, a dollar bill when circumstances were near desperate. And if there's nothing dry around, there are answers to that, too.

Once on a fishing trip to Lake of the Woods it rained all morning and when lunch time came we pulled ashore and the guide said he'd make a fire for a shore lunch. "How will you do that?" I said, "Everything's wet." "Nothing to it" he replied, and proceeded to fill a three pound coffee can with shoreside gravel, then add gasoline from our outboard motor tank. I was ready to run when he reached for a match, but he said "I've done this dozens of times. The gravel keeps the fire right on top and it never explodes." He then piled wet driftwood on the can, the fire dried out the wood, and we made a fine lunch of walleye fillets, baked beans, bread and butter, and hot coffee.

There are other kinds of fires you can make, too. The stack fire is the one I described above, but if you're staying in one place for several days, a star fire is useful. Use four or five dry small logs for this placed in a star pattern with the fire in their middle.  As the fire burns down, anyone passing close can kick the logs outside ends, forcing new wood into the coals.  You can also build a teepee of larger wood chunks over a small stack fire, so as they burn the pieces will gradually fall and continue to feed the fire. Whatever your choice, make sure it's legal to build a fire in your location, and even surer that you have the means to put it out if necessary.  A wild fire is a bad situation indeed.

Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for 30 years. You can reach him at richmart@neo.rr.com.