Campfire Safety

Campfires can be a great way to warm up while enjoying the outdoors and provides a relaxing environment outside. Keep safety a priority and recreate responsibly.  

When planning, constructing, and extinguishing campfires:  

Pick a spot

  • First, check for local outdoor burning restrictions or ordinances and ensure that campfires are allowed on the campground, if applicable.  
  • Check local weather conditions and avoid igniting a campfire if it is hot, dry, or windy.   
  • If at a campsite, look for a designated campfire site such as a fire pit or fire ring.  
  • Choose a location that is at least 15 feet away from tents, structure walls, shrubs, trees, and other flammable objects.  
  • Avoid sites with overhead obstruction like low hanging branches, power lines, or structures.   
  • Ensure it is a location that you are able to stay and monitor while it is burning to make sure it doesn’t escape.  

Prepare a fire pit

  • Clear a 10-foot area around the campfire site.  
  • Dig a pit in the dirt approximately one foot deep in the center of the cleared area.  
  • Arrange rocks in a circle around the top of the pit. This prevents embers from escaping.  

Build a fire

  • Gather three types of wood to build your fire:
    • Tinder – small twigs, dry leaves or grass, dry pine needles. Add tinder as the base of your campfire.  
    • Kindling – dry sticks smaller than one inch around. Add these next.  
    • Firewood – larger, dry pieces of wood up to about 10 inches around. Add firewood last.   
  • Choose the type of campfire you’d like to build:
    • Tepee: Make a pile of tinder and arrange your kindling over it like the poles of a tepee. Keep the tepee shape as you add more wood to the fire. Be careful that the tepee doesn’t tip over. 
    • Cross fire: Place a pile of tinder between two parallel pieces of kindling. Once the fire is burning, lay more pieces of kindling across the fire perpendicular to the first pair. As you add larger sticks to the fire, make each new layer perpendicular to the last, building a pyramid shape.  
    • Log cabin: Surround your tinder pile with a square of kindling build by laying two sticks parallel on either side of the tinder, then two sticks on top of and perpendicular to the first pair. Build up several levels and end with a “roof” of small kindling across the top. Add larger sticks in pairs to keep the fire’s log cabin shape.   
  • Place unused firewood upwind and away from the fire.  
  • Keep the fire at a manageable size. Larger fires require more work and water to extinguish and have a greater chance of escape.   
  • Avoid using flammable liquids to start your fire.   
  • Be mindful of kids and pets around campfires.  
  • Keep a water source and shovel nearby.  

Extinguishing the fire

  • Never leave a campfire unattended. If possible, allow the wood to burn completely to ash.  
  • Pour water on all embers until the hissing sounds stop.  
  • Stir the campfire ashes and water with a shovel.  
  • Scrape any remaining logs to remove embers.  
  • Stir and ensure the extinguished materials are wet and not emitting any more heat.  
  • If you do not have enough water to completely extinguish the fire, mix dirt or sand with the embers. Continue adding dirt or sand and stirring the embers until heat is not present anymore.   
  • Do not bury the campfire because it may still smolder underground and could potentially ignite root systems or pose a safety hazard.
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