How to Build a Bonfire From Wet Wood
Rainy weather or damp conditions can complicate your plans to hold a bonfire. While wet wood can be a real challenge to light and keep lit, you can use a few alternative methods to create a spectacular fire that will be the focal point of a memorable celebration. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Place additional gravel or small stones at the bottom of your firepit before you build your bonfire with wet wood. This will help to keep the wood away from the wet ground or mud at the bottom of your firepit, increasing your chances of setting off a successful bonfire.
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Gather as much used paper and flammable garbage as possible to be used as tinder to light your bonfire. Avoid using materials that are covered with ink, plastic or wax, which can emit an unpleasant odor or even toxic fumes into the air. Newsprint can work well, for instance, but magazine pages generally will not.
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Place the garbage and paper in the firepit, and use small sticks as kindling over the top. These pieces of wood should be roughly thicker than a pencil, but no so thick that you can't break them easily over your knee. Arrange the wood in a wigwam-shaped fashion over the paper and garbage in the firepit.
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Douse a few pieces of wet wood with lighter fluid and set them aside. Don't oversoak the wood with lighter fluid, which can cause the kindling to explode when it is thrown into the firepit, encouraging the bonfire to expand beyond the perimeter of the firepit. The lighter fluid will help the water in the wood evaporate slightly after a few minutes.
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Start your bonfire by lighting the trash and paper under the kindling. Start the fire in as many different places as possible at the same time.
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Add the wood that has been doused with lighter fluid as you build your bonfire. Throw the smaller pieces in first, keeping pace with the spread of the flames in the firepit. Add larger and larger pieces of wood as the fire grows, taking care not to let the flames go out.
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Keep adding larger and larger pieces of wet wood to the bonfire until it is fairly self-sufficient. Add more kindling and trash if the fire cannot sustain itself.
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Tips & Warnings
Never squirt lighter fluid or gasoline directly into a flame when you build a bonfire. The fire can easily travel back into the container, causing it to explode in your hand.
