How to Start a Campfire When Everything Is Wet

It rained all afternoon, the picnic table is beaded with water, and the bundle of firewood is darker than when you bought it. You have a lighter and a hungry family. You can still get a fire going. Wet weather is mostly a fuel problem, and the fix is to find the dry wood that's still there, shave it down small, and build it up off the wet ground. Here's how, plus how to put it out properly when you're done.

01The short answer: dry fuel, small to big, off the ground

Rain soaks the outside of wood first. The inside of a dead branch or a split log usually stays much drier. So the job is to get to that dry wood and make it small enough to catch.

Here's the whole method in one paragraph. Collect dead wood and peel or shave off the wet bark. Split the bigger pieces so the dry insides face out. Make feather sticks and a pile of thin kindling, about twice as much as seems reasonable. Dry off the base of the fire ring, set a firestarter on it, and build a tipi, log cabin or lean-to around it with the smallest pieces nearest the flame. Light it with your back to the wind. Add bigger pieces only once the small ones are burning hard, and set damp pieces around the edge to dry before they go in. When you're finished, drown, stir, drown and feel.

Every step depends on the first one: finding wood that's dry where it counts.

02Find and keep dry wood

Wet wood makes a bad fire because the heat goes into boiling off water instead of burning. Wood with more moisture gives off more smoke and less heat, according to Illinois Extension. Seasoned firewood is below 20 percent moisture, and fresh-cut wood usually needs 6 to 9 months to dry that far. To test a piece, knock two together: dry wood makes a sharp clink, and green wood sounds dull. Small cracks in the ends are another good sign.

Where to look:

• Dead standing wood and lower branches. Wood held up off the ground drains and dries. Wood lying on the forest floor sits in the wet.
• Sheltered spots. Look under thick tree cover, under fallen logs and under big rocks for dry tinder. If you're hiking in, pick up dry bits along the way and keep them in your pack.
• The inside of split wood. Splitting larger logs and branches opens up the dry wood inside.
• Under the bark. Wet bark soaks up the rain first, so peeling it off can expose drier wood underneath. This works best when the rain hasn't been going long. After a long soaking, keep shaving off the damp outer layers until you reach dry wood.

Once you have dry wood, keep it dry. Never drop it on wet ground. Ontario Parks suggests resting it in the fork of a tree or keeping it under a tarp, under a dining fly or in the car until you need it.

03Feather sticks and kindling

When the tinder lying around is soaked, you make your own from the dry wood you just found. That's a feather stick.

Pick dead, dry, standing wood that isn't rotten or soft. It should be straight-grained and free of knots, because knots make your knife skip and break the curls. Bushcraft instructor Paul Kirtley suggests pieces about 2 to 3 inches across if you only have a knife, and names pine, willow and cedar as good woods for it.

How to make one:

1. Split the piece to get a clean, dry face.
2. Hold the knife blade nearly flat against the wood and push it down the stick in long, thin strokes.
3. Stop each stroke before the curl comes off, so it stays attached at the bottom.
4. Keep going until there's a thick cluster of fine curls at one end.

Leaving the curls attached does three jobs. It keeps them off the wet ground, it lets you move the whole stick into place at once, and it keeps the bundle airy so the first flame gets plenty of air. A thick bundle of fine curls on a thin stick lights easily even when the wood around it is wet. Make three or four.

Then split a pile of kindling about an inch thick or less, as Smokey Bear recommends. Sort it from pencil-thin up to thumb-thick so you can feed the fire in order.

04Build and light it

Set up the spot. Use the campsite's fire ring if it has one. Build on the side of the pit facing into the wind, where the walls give the most shelter, and stand with your back to the wind when you light it. If it's raining, scrape out the puddled ash and dry the bottom of the pit first. A damp base pulls heat out of the fire from below. Some campers lay a flat row of dry split sticks down as a floor, which keeps the tinder off the wet ash.

Pick a lay. Three shapes work well in wet weather:

• Tipi (tent): Lean kindling around the tinder in a cone. The flame runs straight up the sticks, which makes it the fastest way to dry and light thin pieces.
• Log cabin: Stack pairs of sticks in crisscrossing layers around the tinder. It burns steadily and builds a good bed of coals.
• Lean-to: Prop one bigger piece at an angle over the tinder. It works like a small roof against drizzle and wind.

Light it. Lighters and matches work, but plain paper matches die quickly in damp air. Keep matches in a waterproof container, or bring a long barbecue lighter, which holds up better in wind and weather. A firestarter does the slow work of drying the kindling above it. Wax-and-sawdust starter logs are made for this. Ontario Parks says one wrapped starter log burns for 45 minutes or more. Put the starter at the base, tuck feather sticks over it, and light the starter, not the wood.

Feed it slowly. Add kindling a few pieces at a time and only move up a size once the current size is burning well. Wet or windy weather slows everything down, so expect to go through more kindling than you planned. Set slightly damp pieces around the edge of the fire so the heat dries them, then add them once they stop steaming. Damp leaves are everywhere in the fall, but they'll smother a young fire, so keep them out of it.

05Firewood rules and fire safety

If you're buying wood, buy it close to where you'll burn it. The Don't Move Firewood campaign's rule of thumb is that 10 miles or less is best and 50 miles is too far, because firewood can carry tree-killing pests. Many states and parks set their own limits, so check the campaign's map of firewood rules before you load the car. Some parks sell only local or USDA-certified wood. The National Park Service also warns against burning wood wrapped in clear plastic.

Clearance rules vary too. Smokey Bear's guidance is a cleared circle 10 feet across, kept at least 15 feet from tents, brush and low branches. Minnesota DNR asks campers to use a fire ring or clear 5 feet in every direction, and to keep the fire no bigger than 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall. Follow whatever the posted rule is where you are. Check for burn restrictions before you light, even after rain, and never leave the fire alone.

To put it out, drown, stir, drown, feel. Pour water until the hissing stops, stir the ashes with a shovel or stick, pour on more water, then hold the back of your hand over the ashes. Dirt or sand alone isn't enough. As the Park Service says, "if the ashes are too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave."

06What to pack for next time

Pack this in one dry bag before your next wet-weather trip, whether that's a Halloween weekend or a Thanksgiving camp:

• Waterproof or stormproof matches in a sealed container, or a barbecue lighter. A ferro rod is a good backup.
• Firestarters. Store-bought starters work, or make your own: knead petroleum jelly into cotton balls and keep them in a zip bag or pill bottle. Pull one apart before lighting it. One test got about 3 minutes of flame from a single ball (Firewood for Life).
• A fixed-blade knife for feather sticks.
• A tarp to keep wood and tinder dry while you work.
• A small saw or hatchet for getting to dry wood.

Sources (10)

• Wilderness Times: The Best Way to Start a Campfire When Everything Is Wet
• Paul Kirtley: Feather sticks
• Ontario Parks blog: Wet-weather campfires
• Illinois Extension: Firewood burning safety
• University of Tennessee Extension: Firewood
• Smokey Bear: Campfire safety
• Minnesota DNR: Campfire safety
• Don't Move Firewood: FAQ
• National Park Service: Fire buckets
• Firewood for Life: Cotton ball fire starter

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