The campfire is the heart of a good camp. Warmth, atmosphere, food, that meditative staring into the flames — there's a reason humans have been doing this for 400,000 years. Get it right and your trip is transformed. Get it wrong and you've started a bushfire, smoked out your tent, or burnt the dinner.

Here's the practical guide to building, maintaining and extinguishing a campfire properly — Aussie conditions, real-world safety.

Photo by Kyle Loftus on Unsplash

• Total Fire Ban days = NO open fires, full stop. Use a gas stove only. Penalties run into thousands of dollars and prison time. Check the local CFA / RFS / DFES site or call the park ranger before lighting anything
• Many National Parks permit fires only in provided fireplaces. Some forbid them entirely. Always check the specific park's rules
• Seasonal restrictions apply in many areas — alpine areas above the tree line, certain coastal reserves, summer-only restrictions in southern states
• Even when permitted, use your judgment. Hot, dry, windy days = no fire even without an official ban

• Use the provided fireplace if there is one — that's the rule in most parks
• If not provided + permitted: dig a pit 300mm deep, in a clear area
• 5m+ radius clear of leaf litter, twigs, dry grass
• No overhanging branches or low vegetation
• Upwind of tents, vehicles, gas bottles
• Maximum size: 1 sq metre. Bigger fires aren't safer or warmer — they're dangerous. The "small but well-fed fire" is the standard
• NEVER ring the pit with river rocks — they explode when heated due to internal water pockets. Use dry land rocks if you must, ideally just dirt

Photo: Devon MacKay / Unsplash

The classic, reliable way to build a fire that lights first time:

1. Tinder at the base — small dry material that catches a spark instantly. Options: shredded dry bark, dry gum leaves, fluff from inside seed pods, scrunched-up newspaper, commercial firelighter cubes
2. Kindling cone — pencil-thin to thumb-thick dry twigs arranged in a cone (tepee) shape over the tinder, with a gap on the upwind side
3. Fuel wood ready nearby — pieces wrist-thick to forearm-thick, sorted by size
4. Light the tinder from the upwind side at multiple points using a long match or lighter. Cup the flame with your hand initially
5. As kindling catches — add slightly larger pieces. Keep the cone shape; don't smother
6. Once burning steady — graduate up to fuel wood. Keep adding pieces vertically (cone shape) — this lets hot air rise through and dries the next pieces from below

• NEVER use petrol as a fire-starting accelerant. It vapourises, explodes, then leaves you with damp wood. Multiple deaths each year from this. Hard rule
• Methylated spirits = also dangerous; flames flow back up the bottle. Avoid
• Diesel fuel is marginally safer (won't explode like petrol) but still not recommended. Use a firelighter cube instead
• NEVER cut down living or dead-standing trees for firewood. Use only fallen, wind-down timber. This is law in most parks AND a basic respect issue
• Don't burn rubbish or plastic — toxic smoke, leaves nasty residue
• Don't burn treated timber (e.g. CCA-treated decking, painted wood) — releases toxic fumes

• Fan the embers — an esky lid, a folded camp chair, even a magazine works as a hand fan. Steady gusts of air revive a flagging fire fast
• Add dry gum leaves — a handful sprinkled on creates an instant flare-up that ignites larger wood
• Re-arrange burning pieces — a stick to the side that's not burning well? Move it to the heart of the fire
• Add wood vertically, not flat. Vertical = airflow through; flat = smother
• Wet wood? Place damp pieces around the edge of the fire — they dry while next-up pieces burn
• Stash dry wood under the vehicle overnight in case of rain — dry firewood for tomorrow's morning fire is gold

Photo: Iain / Unsplash

The cardinal rule: cook on COALS, not flames. Flames are for warmth and atmosphere; cooking happens once the fire has burned down to a thick bed of glowing red coals.

• Plan ahead. Light the fire 45-60 minutes before you want to start cooking
• Use hardwoods for cooking (red gum, ironbark) — they burn longer and produce better coals than softwoods (pine, sheoak)
• Camp oven on coals — see our camp oven beef curry recipe for proper technique
• Grill on a wire grate over coals — for steaks, sausages, chops
• Damper in foil in the coals — the classic Aussie campfire bread
• Spuds in coals — wrap in foil, bury in hot coals for 45 mins. Perfect

• NEVER leave a fire unattended. Wind shifts. Embers escape. This is how bushfires start
• Have water nearby — at least 5L bucket. A fire blanket and small extinguisher in the car
• Keep gas bottles well away and ideally upwind
• Children supervised at all times — kids near fires need adult focus
• No dry items downwind — wind shifts toss embers further than you'd think. Tents, chairs, towels = fuel
• Pets too — dog tail in flames is a bad day for everyone

1. Spread the coals out — exposes them to air for cooler burnout
2. Pour water on, stirring with a stick. Don't be stingy — keep pouring until you can hear no more steam
3. Touch the ash with the back of your hand (carefully) — should be cold to touch
4. Stir up the bottom layer; pour more water if any heat remains
5. For a fully clean exit: cover with the original soil, tamp down. Looks like there was never a fire there

Get into the habit of extinguishing the night before bed — saves morning hassle and removes the risk of an unattended fire reigniting in overnight wind.

The campfire is the centre of a great campsite. Done well, it gives warmth, atmosphere, food, and the meditative quality that makes camp evenings memorable. Done badly, it ruins trips or starts bushfires.

Check the bans, dig the pit properly, build the tepee, use only down-timber, never accelerants, never unattended, extinguish completely. Get those right and you'll have decades of beautiful campfires ahead.