How to light a fire in the rain and wet weather

Wet weather fires are mostly about preparation. The actual lighting takes seconds. The ten or twenty minutes before it decide whether it works.

Before you start: permission and safety

In most of the UK you need the landowner's permission to light a fire. Many places, including lots of woods, parks, nature reserves and open access land, ban open fires completely. The Countryside Code asks visitors not to light fires and only to use barbecues where signs say you can. Even in wet winters, peaty ground and dry grass under trees can burn.

If you are not sure you are allowed, use a camping stove instead. A stove boils water just as well in the rain and leaves no mark.

When you do have permission, a fire bowl or raised fire pit is the best choice. It keeps the fire off the ground, so there is no scorched patch left behind.

Choosing your spot

• Away from overhanging branches, tree roots, dry bracken and anything that could catch.
• Not on peat. Peaty soil can smoulder underground and flare up later.
• Sheltered from the wind, but with nothing flammable downwind.
• Use an existing fire pit if the landowner has one, rather than making a new scar.
• Avoid wet river stones around the fire. Trapped water can make them crack or burst when heated.

Finding dry fuel in wet woods

Wood on the ground is almost always soaked in autumn and winter. Look up instead.

• Dead standing wood. Small dead trees and dead branches still attached to a tree stay much drier than fallen wood. If a stick snaps with a crack, it is dry enough.
• Low dead twigs on conifers. The thin, dead twigs on the lower trunk of pine and spruce trees are often dry under the canopy.
• Birch bark from fallen, dead birch. It contains natural oils and burns even when damp. Never peel bark from a living tree, as it damages it.
• The inside of wood. Rain soaks the outside, but a split branch is usually dry in the middle.

Gather three grades of fuel and sort them into piles under your tarp or in a bag:

1. Tinder: birch bark, feather stick curls, wood shavings, or your tinder from home.
2. Kindling: a big double handful each of matchstick-thin, pencil-thin and thumb-thick sticks.
3. Fuel: split wood around wrist thickness.

Then gather the same again. Most wet-weather fires fail because the kindling runs out just as the fire is getting going.

Steps

1. Rig your tarp first. Put it up high and to one side of the fire spot, so it keeps rain off you and your fuel piles but not directly over the flames. Our guide to tarp shelter knots shows how.
2. Put your water next to the fire spot. A full bottle or pan within reach, before anything is lit.
3. Build a platform. Lay a row of wrist-thick dead sticks side by side on the ground, or use your fire bowl. This keeps your tinder off the wet earth and lets air in from below.
4. Split your kindling. Use your saw and knife to split damp sticks and expose the dry insides. Thin, split wood catches much faster than round sticks with bark on.
5. Make two or three feather sticks. These give you tinder and kindling in one. Our guide on how to make a feather stick explains the technique.
6. Place your tinder in the middle of the platform. Fluff it up so air can get through.
7. Build a small tipi. Lean your thinnest kindling around the tinder in a cone, leaving a gap on the side facing the wind so you can reach in to light it.
8. Shield and light. Crouch with your back to the wind and rain. Light the tinder from the bottom on the upwind side so the breeze pushes the flame into the fuel. With a ferro rod, pull the rod back towards you so sparks land in the tinder without scattering it.
9. Feed it gradually. As the thin sticks catch, add more of the same size. Only move up to pencil thickness when the first layer is burning well, then thumb thickness. Do not rush to the big wood.
10. Keep the flames fed and breathing. Add fuel in small handfuls. Piling on too much at once smothers the fire and cuts off the air.
11. Dry your next fuel. Lay larger sticks around the edge of the fire, not touching the flames, so the heat drives the moisture off before you need them.
12. Keep it small. A small, hot fire is easier to manage, uses less wood and is safer.

Fire safety

• Never leave a fire unattended, even for a few minutes.
• No petrol, paraffin or other accelerants. They can flash back and cause serious burns.
• Keep children and dogs well back from the fire, and agree a clear safe zone around it. For Cub and Scout groups, mark the area with sticks or a rope.
• Tie back long hair and loose clothing. Wet weather jackets made of synthetic fabric melt easily.
• Short winter days catch people out. Start your fire prep well before dark and carry a head torch.
• Call 999 if a fire gets out of control or you find an unattended one.

Putting it out and leaving no trace

Plan to finish with time to spare. Stop adding fuel at least 30 minutes before you want to leave, so the wood burns down to ash.

1. Spread the embers out with a stick.
2. Pour water over them slowly. Listen for hissing.
3. Stir the ash and pour again.
4. Hold the back of your hand just above the ash. If you can feel any warmth, keep going.
5. When it is cold, scatter the ash thinly if the landowner is happy for you to, and replace any turf you lifted.
6. Take every bit of litter home, including food scraps and anything that did not burn.

The aim is to leave the spot looking as if nobody was there. Rain does not put a fire out for you, so never assume the weather will finish the job.

Common mistakes

• Building on wet ground. Without a platform, the ground sucks the heat out of your tinder.
• Not enough small kindling. You need far more matchstick and pencil-thin sticks than you expect.
• Moving to big wood too soon. Thick wood added early drowns a young fire.
• Using wood from the ground. It is wet right through. Look for dead standing wood instead.
• Smothering the fire. Fires need air. Leave gaps.
• A tarp too low or right overhead. Sparks and heat can melt or burn holes in it.
• Only one way to light it. Wet matches and a cold lighter happen. Carry a backup, such as a ferro rod.
• Leaving it smouldering. A fire that looks out can still be hot underneath. Drown, stir and check.