How to Build a Backyard Bonfire
How many times have you gone through an entire book of matches trying to start a bonfire that simply won’t stay lit past ravaging through the tinder? Stop getting frustrated and do it right every time.
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Instructions
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Find a safe place free of large amounts of debris or flammables. Be sure to look overhead. Heat and embers rise. Be sure to build your fire in the open air, away from trees, and with no branches hanging over your fire zone.
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Build a fire pit. Whether you use an old tractor wheel rim or a hole in the ground, dug six inches to a foot down, containing your fire is the first step in building a safe bonfire for your family and friends to enjoy. If you are digging a hole for the fire, consider lining the edges of the pit with rocks.
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Once the pit has been determined, you can proceed with the building phase of the bonfire. Start by placing two medium sized logs parallel to each other in the center of the pit, leaving a gap of five to eight inches in between.
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Fill the gap between the logs with tinder. Tinder runs the gamut from old newspapers to pine needles, to hay or other dried wood pieces that are less than a pencil width in thickness.
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Make two bundles of kindling (using wood no bigger than the thickness of a pencil) about five inches in diameter and lean them against each other and against the tinder, parallel to the logs, leaving ¼ inch between the ends. Be sure to lay them fairly flat, with only a slight angle.
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Lay medium sized kindling, kindling that is anywhere from two-pencils to about five-pencils thick in diameter perpendicular to the logs, over the top of the smaller kindling.
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Lean long medium size kindling around the base of your growing mound in a teepee fashion, leaving room to stick your hand through to the center of the bundle for lighting purposes.
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Lean medium size logs of approximately the same length as the kindling against the kindling in the same teepee formation, leaving a space at the same gap, for lighting purposes.
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Light a match and stick it through to the tinder and wait for it to light. If you built your fire correctly, one match should be enough.
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Close the lighting hole over with a layer of kindling, then a log for a uniform doorless-teepee look.
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Wait five minutes, and enjoy your fire
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Tips & Warnings
Remember always, that safety is the number one priority. Keep lots of water around and make sure to completely stamp out your fire when you are through with it. Never leave a fire unsupervised. Also, note that some communities require a permit to build a bonfire. Make sure you follow all laws and ordinances regarding bonfires in your community.
