As Homecoming showed Monday, a bonfire can be a great way to get together with friends to relax. Students can also celebrate the first week of autumn with a campfire. Along with ghost stories, s'mores, song singing and hotdogs, a campfire can be the perfect place to relax and watch the seasons change.
Set-up areaCollect dry leaves, twigs, small sticks and branches. These will act as the foundation for any campfire you will build.
Next, build the fire inside a fire ring away from trees or brush. If there isn't a fire ring around, you can always build one by making a large circle with rocks in the area to keep ashes in one area.
Build the basePut a small pile of leaves and twigs (or even some crumbled up newspaper) in the middle of the ring, and around that pile build a tent-like structure with the sticks and small branches. Next you can build around the tent with stacked up to the top of the teepee of sticks, just as you would stack Lincoln Logs.
Start the fireDrop some matches down the hatch until the "kindling" ignites and your campfire starts burning. Once the fire starts to grow continue putting larger pieces of wood on the fire. You don't want to put too many branches on the fire because it should still breathe.
SafetyWhat would Smokey Bear say?
Well, making a good fire isn't good enough, but here are a few tips to keep everyone safe.
You don't need to recreate the Homecoming bonfire, think things through. Be economical.
Also, check with the campsite if campers are allowed to have campfires. Campers should also check where it's allowed to get firewood on the campgrounds, if at all. You shouldn't cut down a tree or use fresh wood because it has too much sap and will burn too slowly. You don't want to hurt any trees.
Start the fire small with kindling and build it larger. Don't start a fire like your dad did by using gasoline, kerosene or lighter fluid.
When it's time to leave the fire or go to sleep, pour water on the fire until you stop hearing a hissing sound and everything is cool to the touch. Also, try stirring the fire with a shovel along with pouring water on it. If you don't have water use dirt or sand.
Use common sense: Don't burn aerosol cans, pressurized containers, glass or aluminum.
Collecting woodGaby Hitchcock, Mounds State Park office manager, said one of the problems confronted by state parks is the emerald ash borer beetle. State Parks don't allow campers to pick up branches for fires and require them to bring outside wood.
But wood is often quarantined because officials don't want to transfer the emerald ash borer beetle. State Park officials check if campers are bringing wood from quarantined Indiana counties to nonquarantined counties, she said. And if they are, the wood is confiscated.
Elizabeth Rice from Timberline Family Campground said the campers would be allowed to have a fire on the grounds and also pick up firewood on the campgrounds.
Anna Jones from Big Oak Park said people could also pick firewood from Big Oak's campgrounds, but couldn't give anyone a tip on how to start a fire.
"I never was a girl scout," she said.
Where to have a bonfireBig Oak Park(765) 358-32089401 N. County Road 500 WMuncie, Ind. 47304
Timberline Family Campground(765) 378-59093230 E. 75 NAnderson, Ind. 46017
Spring Valley Campground(765) 354-45218186 W. County Road 575 NMiddletown, Ind. 47356
Lost Lake Incorporated(765) 378-786516099 W. County Road 750 SDaleville, Ind. 47334
Summit Lake State Park(765) 766-58735993 N. Messick RoadNew Castle, Ind. 47362
Mounds State Park(765) 642-66274306 Mounds RoadAnderson, Ind. 46017
Hoosierland Park(765) 724-25302641 E 1300 NAlexandria, Ind. 46001
Mills Lake Campground(765) 468-6971State Rd 32 EFarmland, Ind. 47340
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