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etc.), which in turn must burn hot enough and long enough to light third-stage branches, followed by fourth-stage logs (see the illustrations on facing page). The denser and larger the wood, the harder it is to ignite, but the longer and hotter it will burn. Sometimes a distilled petroleum product, like lighter fluid, is soaked into hard-to-ignite solid fuels in order to start their combustion more quickly. The following chart shows the approximate amount of energy it takes to ignite common fuels.

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IGNITION POINTS

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Preburning (charring) wood makes it easier to ignite. To make charred wood or natural lump charcoal, wood is burnt until it is reduced to carbon. At that point, about 60 percent of its potential energy has been spent, so a charcoal fire will burn out faster than a wood fire. It’s a trade-off, but one that is advantageous to most of us who don’t have hours to nurse a wood fire until it turns into a thick, glowing bed of coals.

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01. Starting a Wood Fire

Three things happen when wood burns: Water in the wood evaporates, the wood smokes, and the wood gradually burns down to hot coals. Freshly cut logs are about 50 percent water and don’t burn easily. Seasoned or dried wood is about 20 percent water and burns more easily because less energy (heat) is required to evaporate the water.

The goal is to light a wood fire quickly so that it produces minimum smoke and maximum combustion. For this, you need dry wood and an initial burst of heat from a match or other fire starter. There are dozens of ways to construct a wood fire. We’ll discuss only the two primary ones: the bottom-up method and the top-down method. In both methods, the dry fuel is layered from most to least combustible, and then it is lit. The fuel can be layered on a flat surface, such as the cleared ground in a pit or fire ring, on a fireplace floor, or on the floor of a grill. Preferably, it will be layered on an elevated grate. Elevating the wood allows for better airflow and faster, more complete combustion. If you don’t have a fire grate, put two or three medium-large logs on the flat surface and layer the fuel on top of this makeshift log grate.

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BOTTOM-UP METHOD Clear the area and put down a layer of crumpled paper, dry leaves, or another easily combustible fuel (crumpling the paper helps air to reach all of its surfaces). Next put on a layer of small twigs, lath, or other thin wood, followed by increasingly thicker branches and small or split logs. Then ignite the paper at the bottom with a flame or other fire starter. The wood ignites from the bottom up. Save the largest logs to add to the fire after it is well established. This method works best with a tepee construction, layering each type of fuel in a cone shape. If you’re on soft ground, it helps to drive a single branch into the ground in the center of the tepee to help hold up the sides. As the wood burns, the cone will burn and eventually fall as hot coals, at which point larger logs can be tossed onto the coals. Because the cone is rather tall at first and then falls, the bottom-up method is best suited for campfires or fire bowls where there is no limit to the vertical space and plenty of room for falling embers.

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TOP-DOWN METHOD Less popular but more impressive, the top-down method is the bottom-up method in reverse. Put your largest logs on the bottom, followed by layers of increasingly combustible split logs, branches, twigs, and other kindling. Paper or dry leaves go on the top. Light the top and, believe it or not, the fire ignites from the top to the bottom. This method works best with a box or crisscross construction made by positioning two large logs on the bottom parallel to one another. Position smaller or split logs on top of and perpendicular to the large ones to create a box shape. Continue crisscrossing layers of increasingly combustible small branches, twigs, lath, and finally paper or dry leaves on top. Because the box is more stable and shorter than the cone, this method works well in fireplaces and shallow grills