Fire building
When building a fire for cooking a simple meal, a bonfire is not necessary. Remember…you are only boiling a little water, not signaling airplanes. The fire you build will be in a designated area. Once your group arrives at your fire pit, gather your tinder, kindling and fuel wood in separate piles.
The TINDER should consist of small dry twigs, wood shavings, dry needles, dry bark. The key here is dry! No green twigs. One plastic grocery bag of tinder per cooking group is recommended.
The KINDLING should consist of small DRY sticks about the size of a pencil up to a standard ruler. These must be dry! One plastic grocery bag of kindling per cooking group is recommended.
The FUEL WOOD should be dry and no larger than a soda can or Pringles chip container. Your group will need about 10-12 pieces of fuel wood.
Having fuel for the fire (wood) is just one of three components needed for a fire to burn properly. Your group will also need an initial source of heat to bring the fuel to ignition. Your teachers will discuss who brings the matches to start the fire. The last component for your fire is oxygen for the burning process.
To start your fire, place a couple handfuls of tinder loosely piled in the center of your fire pit. With your back to the wind and match protected by the cup of your hand, ignite the tinder with the match. Slowly add more tinder. You may need to blow softly at the base of the fire. Once the tinder has fully started to burn, slowly add some smaller pieces of kindling. Keep kindling close together but allow space for air flow. Gradually increase the size of the kindling you add to the fire. When you have a good fire going, add the fuel wood one piece at a time in a teepee or criss-cross pattern taking care not to smother the flames.
You will heat your water by setting the cooking can either on or next to the fire. After your group is finished cooking, staff will instruct you on how we will extinguish the fires.