How to safely build a backyard campfire
With temperatures beginning to reach those summertime levels, it is time to start to think about having friends over to enjoy the backyard and some good old fashion conversing around a fire. The problem is, in many cases fire and nature don’t mix that well. Anytime a fire is made, you need to do your best to try and contain it and make sure you are doing it in the safest manner possible. Following these easy steps will ensure a good time can be had by all without a threat of damage to property.
Build your pit
You can purchase a premade fire pit which can utilize wood or even propane to make the flame, but if you are more of a DIY type of person, building your own pit can be rewarding. Make sure your pit is 15 feet from all shrubs and structures and digging down at least a foot to protect from strong winds is a good place to start as well as putting rocks around your pit to make sure people stay a safe distance away.
Choose your wood
Like the pit, you can go to most supermarkets or home improvement stores and get a bundle of wood, but if you prefer to stay in the DIY mode, you can gather wood that may be around your property as well. Choose dead wood without any green and look for ones that are dry as possible. Placing logs in a stack and letting your newly split wood age for six months to a year is the best way to season it and ensure it is useful for making fires.
Fuel your fire
Be sure to only burn the type of material your pit of choice was meant to burn. For propane pits, make sure they are well ventilated before lighting. And in all cases, never burn foreign objects like coated paper or aluminum cans. Also, never use lighter fluid, gas, or kerosene to light a fire.
Put your fire out
When you are done for the night, it is best to let the wood burn to ash, but there will be times you don't want to wait for the fire to smolder. Slowly pouring water on your fire until you no longer hear hissing is a good way to extinguish it so you can safely call it a night.
Campfires are a great way to relax and enjoy the outdoors, but they can also cause catastrophic damage if you’re not careful. If you have any type of burnable materials in your backyard, make sure that it is thoroughly extinguished before leaving for the night. Leaving embers or ashes unattended could result in severe fire hazards later on down the line like when strong winds blow through town.
