How to Start a Fire

Float Arkansas is dedicated to exploring the waters of Arkansas.

This is how I start a fire when I am canoeing or kayaking.

For any fire, you first need a bundle of firestarting twigs. These are best dry and brittle. No bigger than a pinky and down to half that size. Pretty much a good budle of small twigs.

This will be your main firestarting sticks.

To assist in the initial fire, I will assume a mechanical means of fire such as a lighter with tender, or in my case, a blow torch.

In the first case, there are a few options. Some people use leaves but really they aren't that great. You can carry something like a cotton ball soaked with vasoline as a starter.

There are some other kindling that is natural - thicker grasses, the fibrous insides of bark of some trees.

For myself, I just start with a bunch of dried twigs, and use a blow torch.

Before I start though, I then need to stack a higher level of wood and these would be a bundle of larger sticks the size of a thumb up to maybe the size of your wrist.

Stack this bunle so that it is kind of over the first bundle, but propped in a way to somewhat allow the first bundle to breath.

At this point, there should still be no fire. Just the first bundle of twigs, then a second bundle or couple bundles of larger sticks.

Third, you should have some even larger wood on standby. These should be wrist sized up to leg size. Longer like a couple feet long. Before startig the fire, gently leane a couple or few of these against the 2nd bundle so that the layers still all have some room to breathe.

Fire needs to breathe.

At this point, you can light the fire. Either use the torch like me, or your kindling and flame, whatever you are using.

Pretty much, if you have built it right and everything is dry, the fire should take off. You might blow on the bottom of the flames for air, but other wise it should be catching.