Building a campfire in the rain is undoubtedly one of the more challenging aspects of outdoor survival. When the weather turns wet and dreary, the likelihood of struggling with a soggy fire can be high. However, with the right techniques, tools, and mindset, you can successfully create a campfire even in damp conditions. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this feat:
1. Preparation and Mindset
Before you even begin building your campfire, it’s crucial to accept that the process will take longer and require more effort. Be patient and prepared to experiment with different methods if needed. The key to success is to stay dry and organized.
Tips:
- Shelter: Try to find or create a natural shelter, such as setting up your tent or using tarps, to shield your fire from the rain. If no cover is available, you can make a small lean-to using branches or a large tarp.
- Gather dry materials: In the rain, it’s essential to find the driest possible materials to start the fire. This may involve searching for wood that’s been sheltered by trees, rocks, or thick brush. Even if the forest looks soaked, there are often dry spots in the underbrush or on the upper surfaces of logs.
2. Gathering Firewood in the Rain
When it rains, the ground and logs can be wet, but not all wood is equally affected by moisture. You need to focus on three types of wood: tinder, kindling, and fuelwood.
- Tinder: This is the most crucial element, as it’s the material that will catch the spark or flame. Look for things like:
- Dry leaves: Under trees or bushes, you may find dried leaves that remain dry despite the rain.
- Birch bark: Birch bark is incredibly flammable and often remains dry even in wet conditions.
- Dead pine needles: Pine needles, especially those that have fallen recently, often stay dry and light easily.
- Cedar bark: Shredded cedar bark is another great option for tinder.
- Kindling: Once you have your tinder, the next step is to gather small twigs or thin branches (about the thickness of a pencil) to act as kindling. Look for branches sheltered from the rain or ones that are dry on the inside. To test for dryness, snap a branch—if it breaks easily, it’s likely dry enough to use.
- Fuelwood: This is the wood you’ll add to the fire once it’s established. Gather larger logs that are still dry on the inside. If the logs have been sitting in the rain for a while, they may be damp on the outside but dry within. Split logs if possible to expose drier wood in the center.
3. Building the Fire
Once you’ve gathered your materials, the next step is to set up the fire. The structure of the fire is crucial in damp conditions.
- Create a dry base: Start by elevating your tinder and kindling off the wet ground. You can use flat rocks, pieces of bark, or a small pile of dry leaves or grass to create a dry base for the fire. This is important because wet ground will drain the heat away from your fire, making it harder to start.
- Build a fire lay:
- The teepee structure is the best choice for rainy conditions because it allows for air circulation and lets the flame rise naturally. Start by placing your driest tinder in the center and build a small teepee of kindling around it.
- Once the kindling is standing upright like a small teepee, gradually add thicker pieces of wood, leaning them against each other in a similar shape. Leave space between the logs to allow airflow. You want a structure that allows for maximum air circulation but also keeps the rain off the fire.
4. Lighting the Fire
Now comes the tricky part—actually lighting the fire.
- Use waterproof matches or a firestarter: If it’s raining heavily, standard matches may be useless, so be sure to have waterproof matches, a lighter, or a firestarter like magnesium, a ferrocerium rod, or a fire steel. A cotton ball soaked in petroleum jelly is a great firestarter as it lights easily and burns for several minutes.
- Ignite the tinder: Start by lighting the driest part of your tinder, then gently blow on the flame to encourage it to spread to the kindling. If your tinder doesn’t catch right away, don’t give up. Try again with a different material or use a small amount of accelerant like hand sanitizer (containing alcohol), or a small amount of dry pine resin, which will catch fire easily.
- Maintain airflow: Make sure you’re not crowding the fire too much. If the kindling doesn’t catch right away, give it a little more space to breathe and try lighting from different angles.
5. Keeping the Fire Going
Once you’ve successfully got your fire started, it’s important to keep it burning and prevent it from going out.
- Add larger pieces of wood gradually: Once the fire is burning steadily, you can start adding larger logs. Always make sure that you’re placing logs that are dry inside, not ones that are wet or soaking up water from the ground.
- Cover the fire if necessary: If the rain starts to pick up again, cover your fire with a piece of a tarp, a large piece of bark, or even a makeshift shelter. If you’re using a tarp, make sure it’s pitched high enough to allow airflow but low enough to shield the fire from wind and rain.
- Feed the fire regularly: A fire that’s kept alive in the rain will need regular attention. Continue adding small pieces of dry wood, especially if the rain is persistent.
6. Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Sooty, smothering flames: If your fire starts smoking excessively, it could be because you’re adding wet or green wood, or the fire lacks airflow. Try rearranging the wood to allow better ventilation.
- Flame dies quickly: If the rain is very heavy and your fire keeps dying out, try to find more sheltered dry wood, or move your campfire setup to a more protected area.
7. Final Tips and Considerations
- Stay dry: Avoid getting your wood and tinder wet as much as possible. If you can, keep your materials in a dry bag or under a tarp while gathering them.
- Wind is your enemy: Wind can blow rain directly onto your fire, so consider positioning yourself near large rocks or trees that will block the wind.
- Be mindful of fire safety: Wet conditions can make it easier to control a fire, but always have a backup plan in case the fire gets out of hand. Keep a water source or shovel nearby in case you need to quickly douse the fire.