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Building a Camp Cooking Fire

© Steven C. Karoly

Campfire building used to be counted among essential wilderness skills for the woodsman. He used the campfire for everything -- cooking, washing and warmth. Each time the camper wanted a meal, he had to gather wood, build a fire and wait for it to burn down to red-hot coals.

The successful outdoor cook built a campfire that was just right, according to Horace Kephart, author of Camp Cookery. "It is quite impossible to prepare a good meal over a higgledy-piggledy heap of smoking chunks, a fierce blaze, or a great bed of coals that will warp iron and melt everything else," Kephart said, one of the premiere outdoor writers in the early 1900s.

Kepahrt's ideal cooking fire produced little smoke or flame, yielded a bed of clear glowing coals and gave off a heat like "small blast furnace." These principles remain true today.

Campfire safety and local regulations

Check with the local authorities, before you light up. Many jurisdictions restrict or prohibit campfires at the height of the fire season. For instance, Eldorado National Forest in California banned the use of campfires outside of established campgrounds on June 27 through the end of fire season.

Also remember to secure any necessary permits. My campfire permit, issued by the U.S. Forest Service, authorizes me to build a campfire on National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands in California. The permit lists special regulations and explains restrictions and how to get information.

For additional campfire building tips, consult this sheet on Outdoor Fire Safety from the Coronado National Forest in Arizona.

You'll need a shovel, leather gloves and a saw or ax handy when building a camp or cooking fire. I use a 16-inch pair of tongs to shift hot coals from the campfire to the cooking fire. Some jurisdictions require a bucket and water to smother the fire.

Campfires burn hot. They singe and burn at close distances. While I favor Well Lamont deerskin gloves, many Dutch oven enthusiasts swear by leather welder's gloves. Purchase gloves that cover the wrists and avoid cotton.

Before starting a camp or cooking fire, clear all flammable material away from the fire ring for five feet to ten feet. A garden rake works best. And gather only "dead and down" wood. In most locations, you're prohibited from cutting trees down, including dead trees that are still standing. If you're using a chain saw, make sure it has a spark arrester.

The wood pile, ax and 16-inch tongs

Quiche and fresh melon for breakfast

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