Have you been itching to enjoy a nice evening by the fire? It’s a relaxing way to hang out with family and friends. Luckily, you can do so right from your backyard. You just need to know how to start a wood fire in a fire pit. Check out our quick guide below!

What You Need

• Long lighter or butane torch
• Kindling and tinder
• Newspaper (optional)
• Small logs
• Firestarter (optional)

1. Pile tinder in the bottom of your fire pit. You can also use a firestarter.

Tinder is leaves, pine needles, bark, and other debris that you will use to start your fire. You can also find firestarters online that make it easy to start a small fire with just a little flame.

2. Arrange kindling in a teepee shape above the tinder. Leave small gaps in between kindling to promote airflow.

Kindling is small sticks that will help get your fire from a small pocket of heat to a flame. Fire needs oxygen to sustain itself, so be sure to not crowd the kindling.

3. Light the tinder. Wait for the kindling to catch fire.

You can use a long lighter or butane torch to light your kindling. Avoid flammable propellants like gasoline or lighter fluid.

4. Add small firewood to the fire pit in a pyramid shape. Leave gaps in between the wood to promote airflow.

The small firewood is small logs, larger than kindling. These keep your fire going for several minutes. It’s best if the firewood is dry. It’ll burn much easier compared to damp firewood.

It’s not required to arrange the wood in any particular shape. Depending on the size of your fire pit, you might only need one to two pieces of wood. Then you can just line them up with a little space in between each one. A pyramid shape is common to keep the fire going for a long time.

Don’t drop your wood into the fire pit from a far distance. Coals will fly around which is not safe. 

5. After 10 to 15 minutes, add more firewood if the fire starts to subside.

If your current firewood turns black, you’ll need more to keep the fire going.

Fire Pit Safety Tips

• Place your fire pit on a flat surface.
• Don’t build a fire when it’s windy.
• Maintain five to 10 feet between you and your outdoor fire pit. Keep children and pets away.
• Don’t leave your fire pit unattended.
• Start with a small fire. You can always add more wood if needed.
• Install your fire pit at least 10 feet away from any structures, shrubbery, and grass.
• Don’t use lighter fluid, gasoline, or other flammable propellants to light the fire.

Where to Place the Outdoor Fire Pit

Place your fire pit at least 10 feet away from your home. It should be clear of trees, branches, shrubs, and other greenery. Make sure nothing is above the fire. You want to have space for guests to gather around the fire too. But they shouldn’t get closer than five feet from the fire pit.

How to Maintain the Fire

To keep your fire going, add more firewood when you notice it’s getting smaller. If you’re having trouble getting the fire started, add more tinder or try using some newspaper. You want a small fire to start before you add firewood. If it’s not started, you could simply choke the fire of oxygen.

What you can and can’t use to light your fire pit

A long lighter is the safest tool to use to light your outdoor fire pit. You can also use a handheld lighter but you have to be quick and careful. To avoid large fires or flare ups, do not use gasoline, lighter fluid, or other propellants to light your fire. 

Putting out the fire in your outdoor fire pit

What You Need

• Fireplace ash shovel
• Trash can
• Some water

1. Before you wrap up your evening, sprinkle water over the fire to put it out.

Don’t pour water over the fire. It can cause the coals to splash and spill over. Embers might burn your skin.

2. Use a shovel to mix the ash until the hissing has subsided. 

3. Shovel or scoop the ash into a trash bin.

That wraps up our post. Hopefully this article helped you start your fire pit. It should only take a little tinder and kindling to get your fire started. If you’re having trouble, add more tinder and make sure you are using dry materials. They will light much faster!

Good luck! For other outdoor content, check out the articles below!

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