How to Start a Small Fire With Wood Chips

The tepee shape of a small fire permits adequate air flow.

Starting a small fire without the aid of tinder is possible using wood chips. The keys to a successful fire are to have an ample supply of dry material, a sheltered location, and patience to prepare the fire site and materials as needed. Whether your fire is in the wilderness or your own backyard, always attend to your fire undistracted. Never leave the fire while it's burning. Clear the area after the fire so that only minimal trace of a fire site remains behind.

Things You'll Need

• Rake
• Dried wood pieces and twigs
• Pocket knife
• Stones and rocks
• Kitchen matches
• Water

Instructions

1. Locate a site that's out of the wind for your small fire. Scrape or rake the site clear of dried grass or other flammable items.

2. Build a ring of small rocks to contain the fire. Inside the ring, build a mound of small stones about 3 inches high. Leave a depression or bowl in the center of the mound.

3. Collect as many dry sticks, fallen branches and tree limbs as you can find. Collect a few resin-filled branches from pine or spruce trees. Whittle at least 6 cups of tiny pieces of wood from the dry material. Rub the wood chips with the resin. This will help them ignite in the absence of tinder.

4. Sort the remaining wood into three piles. In one pile, put finger-width pieces of twigs and dry wood. A second pile will contain slightly larger pieces of wood, the width of two fingers. The third pile will contain your larger wood pieces.

5. Place a handful of resin-rubbed wood chips into the depression in the stone mound. Place an unlit wooden kitchen match inside the wood chip pile. Build a tepee of small branches and wood around the wood chips.

6. Light the wood chips with a kitchen match. Add a second handful of wood chips gradually as the fire ignites.

7. Keep the fire going by adding wood chips to the larger wood coals created as the larger pieces burn. Alternate adding wood chips and larger twigs and branches until you have a fire that satisfies you.

Tips & Warnings

• If you know you'll be building a tinder-free campfire, mix some wood chips with dryer lint and carry it with you in a plastic bag.

• Always keep water nearby whenever you're starting a fire. To be safe, put the fire out with water and douse all hot coals.

References

• Wilderness Survival Skills: How to Make a Fire
• U.S. Scouting Service Projects: Fire Starters
• Wildwood Survival: Fire Basics