How to Put out a Campfire

Chris HuntAbout the Author: Hi! I'm Chris Hunt, and I wrote this article. With years of experience as a former firefighter and knowledge of combustible materials, I have personally researched and compiled the information presented here. Please note that the content provided is solely my opinion and should not be construed as professional advice. Additionally, I do not guarantee the quality or performance of any of the products featured. Please be sure to review the website's Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions before using the site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (without additional cost or expense to you).

Camping isn’t the same without a campfire. And when we go camping, we don’t go a night without lighting our campfire. So what’s camping without ‘Smores?

We go camping every summer. Last summer, we made a road trip through Yellowstone and Glacier National Park.

And when our kids are old enough, we’ll take them camping all the time.

But campfires are also dangerous. And we’ll teach them how to put out a campfire.

Campfire cooking

First, we never leave a campfire alone.

Importantly, ensuring the fire completely extinguishes before leaving it alone is essential. That includes jumping into our tent at the end of the night. It also includes checking it before leaving at the end of the visit!

Campfires can easily re-ignite

The significant danger of campfires is that they look like they’re out, even when they aren’t. You might have put out all the flames, but the smoldering embers can flare up with the simplest wind change or falling twig. So, we follow some essential steps every time we light a campfire.

How to Put Out a Campfire

Step 1. Start Early!

Putting out a campfire takes time. So even after you’ve completed all the action steps in putting it out, we think you still need to wait a while to clean off the area and ensure the fire stays out. So we start to put out the campfire when beginning to pack up everything.

If it’s the end of the night, we put out the fire following the steps below, then do other tasks like washing our dishes. This activity allows you time to watch the fire as it cools.

Similarly, if we’re leaving the campsite, we follow these steps to put the fire out and pack our car. Then, we return to the fire after packing our car and cleaning the area to check in on the fire again.

Step 2. Let the Fire Burn to White Ash.

It is always safest to wait for white ash to burn out. This waiting will ensure minimal fuel available for the fire to burn. Unfortunately, it always seems to be the case that someone wants to chuck another log on the fire 30 minutes before the end of the night. While this might be fun, there’s a lot of leftover fuel on the fire when it’s time to put it out. So, a little foresight and pre-planning can make putting out the fire easier at night’s end.

Step 3. Spread the Remaining Coals and Fuel Evenly.

Unfortunately, waiting until the fire burns to white ash isn’t always possible.

If there are remaining coals or wood, we spread them evenly. We try to make sure any fuels left in the fire pit are not touching one another.

Putting out a campfire

Step 4. Pour Water or Soil over the Fire.

Most fire authorities recommend using water to put out a campfire. But, sometimes, we don’t have access to water. So, if we can’t get water, we use soil instead.

Water or soil is placed over the fire to smother it. The goal is to deprive the fire of oxygen to burn.

We put as much water over the fire as possible. When the fire is entirely underwater, it’ll have no access to oxygen. But usually, you’ll not put enough water on the fire to smother it completely. That’s why we do Step 5.

Step 5. Stir the Fire.

Stirring the water and soil with the ash will help smother it. So instead, we like to mix it into a paste, adding water and soil when necessary.

If leftover logs or chunks of half-burnt fuel are in the fire, we roll them in the water and soil to cover their surfaces to help smother and cool them down.

Step 6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until the Heat is Removed.

We then repeat Steps 4 and 5. Repeating steps is especially important if there are still red embers in the fire – all red embers should be well and truly out!

We add more water and soil, then stir the fire once more. Even if we feel the fire is out, repeating these steps will help lower the heat even further. As the heat reduces, the chances of the fire re-igniting decrease.

We keep repeating Steps 4 and 5 until the fire is cold. It’s dangerous actually to touch smoldering fires. So we don’t handle the fire ash. But we can very carefully hover our hand close to the fire (but we do not touch it) to check for radiant heat.

Step 7. Survey the Surrounding Area.

Once we’re up to Step 7, we are usually confident that the fire is out. But, there are still some safety precautions we choose to take. It may not seem like it, but a fire can re-ignite quickly. A wind change or falling leaf is all it takes for the fire to start again.

The first step is to ensure no fuels are within 3 feet (ca. 91 cm) of the fire pit. Next, we remove any kindling, leaves, twigs, or logs. If the fire re-ignites, we don’t want any easily accessible fuels.

Next, we look around your campsite for glowing embers. Sometimes a fire spits out burning leaves and embers that can ignite spot fires up to 20 feet (ca. 6 meters) away. So we scour the area to ensure no burning embers are left around.

Conclusion

Once we have followed all seven steps to putting out a campfire, we find it’s always good to hang around for another 20-30 minutes. That’s why we put out my fires before we pack the car. Then we can pack the car (or, if we’re going to sleep, get all set up and packed up for bedtime) and come back to the fire one last time to ensure it’s entirely out.

Camping is such a great activity. It’s so much fun and great for bonding with friends, family, and kids. Of course, we can’t wait for our kids to be old enough to enjoy camping with us. But from an early age, we’ll teach our kids the importance of camping safety. Part of that is ensuring we put out your campfire 100% before going to sleep or leaving our campsite.