You are in the woods by yourself and want to make a small but warm fire.

Or
maybe you are with a large group and need to make a huge, long-lasting
fire. Or maybe you want to make a fire but there isn’t that much wood
around…

There are many types of outdoor situations you might find yourself in, and
there is a best way to lay a fire for each of them. Here are 5 ways to lay a fire
and what they are best for.

1) Teepee Fire Lay

How to Lay the Fire: Put some tinder on the ground. Then you build a
teepee configuration around it. Start your teepee with your smallest sticks
and work up to your larger sticks. Once your teepee is built, use a match or
lighter to light the tinder. You’ll have to keep adding kindling to the fire until
you’ve got a solid bed of embers. After that, you’ll be able to easily keep the
fire going and add your fuelwood.

Pros: Very easy

Cons: Requires a lot of fuel

When to Use: For making small fires in situations where you’ve got a lot of
kindling wood

Tips: When building the teepee, remember to leave a little gap in the teepee
so you can light the tinder! Use TINY sticks when starting your teepee.

2) Lean-To/A-Frame Fire Lay

Lean-to fire lay, made on a very windy day

The A-frame fire lay, made during a light rain

How to Lay the Fire: Get a big rock or log. Prop kindling against it to make a
lean-to or A-frame construction. Alternatively, you can dig a pit. Prop the
kindling against the edge of the pit.

Using your tinder, build a small teepee underneath the lean-to or A-frame you
just built. The small fire will light the kindling above it. Add more kindling and
fuel wood before the flames completely burn through your construction.

Pros: Good for rainy and windy situations

Cons: It restricts airflow, so may not light very easily.

When to Use: When it is rainy or windy. The configuration will prevent the
wind from getting in and also keep rain from getting to the tinder and lower
kindling. Read How to Make a Fire in the Rain

Tips: If the ground is wet, put a layer of sticks flat on the ground. This will
create a platform to keep your tinder away from the wet ground.

If it is raining hard, you’ll have to keep adding kindling/fuel on top so the lean-
to doesn’t collapse and get exposed to the rain!
3) Log Cabin Fire Lay

How to Lay the Fire: To make this fire, you first make a teepee fire
configuration. Then you surround the teepee with a “fence” by stacking
kindling sticks on top of each other. The idea is that fence will fall in on the
teepee, creating a self-feeding fire.

Pros: Once built, it requires less effort to maintain.

Cons: Takes longer to build.

When to Use: When you don’t want to pay much attention to your fire

4) Star Fire/Cross Fire

How to Lay the Fire: Start by making a small teepee fire. Instead of laying
your fuelwood across the fire, you just put the ends of the fuelwood into the
fire.

Pros: Uses very little firewood

Cons: Fire might go out; makes just a small fire

When to Use: When you don’t have much wood

5) Council Fire (aka Upside Down Fire aka

Pyramid Fire)
How to Lay the Fire: Get a lot of fuelwood. Put one layer of fuelwood down in
a layer, then add another layer in the opposite direction. Repeat. As the
stack grows, the fuelwood should get smaller. The top layers should be
composed of kindling.

To get the council fire going, build a teepee fire on top. When the teepee
burns down, it should light your kindling which will then burn down to light your
fuelwood.

Pros: Makes a big, long-lasting fire

Cons: Requires a lot of wood

When to Use: When you have a large group and want to make a huge, long-
lasting fire. The council fire is also good when the ground is wet because it
keeps the tinder and kindling off the ground.

Tip: Don’t use in places where there’s a high risk of forest fires!!! Since the
fire is taller, even a small gust of wind could send lots of sparks flying
Fire Building Methods
There are several methods for laying a fire and each has advantages. The situation you are
in will determine which of the following fires to use.

Tepee Fire
To make a tepee (or tipi) fire, arrange the tinder and a few
sticks of kindling in the shape of a tepee or cone. First, pile
tinder in a compact heap in the center. Arrange smaller
kindling around it like poles in a teepee. Arrange larger
kindling around the smaller kindling. To stabilize the structure,
you may lashsome of the wood together using a clove
hitch. Light the center. As the tepee burns, the outside logs
will fall inward, feeding the fire. Given the domino-effect of logs
falling inward, this type of fire burns well even with wet wood.
Lean-to Fire
Start with a compact mound of tinder. Drive a green stick into
the ground at a 30-degree angle over the tinder. Point the end
of the stick in the direction of the wind. Lean pieces of kindling
against the lean-to stick and over the tinder. Light the tinder.
As the kindling begins to burn, add more kindling.
An alternative method is to place a large log flat on the
ground. Place tinder next to the log, on the downwind side of the log. Prop up the kindling
over the tinder and leaning against the flat log. Light the tinder. This is a useful method in
high winds, the log acting as a windbreak.

Cross-ditch fire
To use the cross-ditch method, scratch a cross about 30
centimeters (12 inches) in the ground. Dig the cross 7.5
centimeters (about 3 inches) deep. Put a large wad of tinder in
the middle of the cross. Build a kindling pyramid above the
tinder. Add additional fuel to the fire as needed. The shallow
ditch allows air to sweep under the tinder to provide a
draft. This type of fire is useful in open areas and/or areas with
little breeze blowing.
Log Cabin Fire
A log cabin fire is less vulnerable to collapses but it is also
inefficient. However, these qualities make it an excellent
cooking fire as it will burn for a long period of time and its frame
can support cookware.
Begin with a tinder pile around which you will place
kindling. As with construction of a log cabin, place the first two
pieces of kindling parallel to each other on each sides of the
tinder. Next place the second pair of kindling on top of the first
and perpendicular to it on opposite sides of the tinder.
Continue adding kindling in this manner using progressively
thinner sticks of wood as you near the top of the structure.
You can also lay kindling across the tinder in between the successive layers of
kindling. The tinder will ignite kindling laid across it. As the kindling burns, it will fall into the
middle further fueling the fire.

A hybrid of the Teepee and Log Cabin Fire can be built too by building a small teepee
structure inside the log cabin structure. First erect a small teepee fire and then construct
the log cabin around it. The teepee structure allows the fire to light quickly and the log
cabin structure sustains the fire for longer periods of time.

Pyramid fire
Similar in construction to the Log Cabin fire, to lay the pyramid
fire, place two small logs or branches parallel on the ground.
Starting several inches from the ends of the base logs, place a
solid layer of smaller logs across the parallel logs leaving about
2-3 inches in between each log. Add three or four more layers
of logs, each layer smaller than and at a right angle to the layer
below it to form a pyramid like structure. Using tinder and
kindling, make a starter fire on top of the pyramid. As the
starter fire burns, it will ignite the logs below it. This gives you a fire that burns downward,
requiring no attention during the night.
Star Fire or Traditional Indian Fire
This is the standard fire of the old West. It is ideal for calm
conditions. It is easy to control and requires little
maintenance. Start by digging a small, 5-inch ditch about 1
inch in depth. Line the inside of the ditch with kindling. Set up
a tinder nest on top of the kindling and surround the tinder with
more kindling. Set five or six fuel wood sticks in a star pattern
with the ends slightly overhanging the ditch. Light the tinder
and blow gently until the fire is lit. Add additional kindling as
needed. As the fire continues burning, push in the logs by the
ends to keep the fire burning.
Dakota Fire Hole
In some situations, you may find that an underground fireplace will best meet your needs.
An underground fire hole conceals the fire and retains the heat well for cooking food. It also
reduces and/or redirects smoke from the fire. Follow these steps to make a Dakota Fire
Hole.

1. Dig a hole in the ground about 1 foot deep and 1 foot wide.
2. On the upwind side of this hole, poke or dig a large connecting hole for ventilation. This
hole should be about 10 inches away from the fire hole and about 8 inches wide. Angle
the hole so it connects to the bottom of your fire hole.
3. Build your fire in the fire hole.

Building a Fire on Snow Covered Ground

If you are in a snow-covered area, use green logs to make a dry base for your fire. Trees
with wrist-sized trunks are easily broken in extreme cold. Cut or break several green logs
and lay them side by side on top of the snow. Add one or two more layers. Lay the top layer
of logs opposite those below it.