'Boreal Throne', Off-Site Group Project at Smena, Kazan

How to Light a Fire in the Rain or Wet Weather

ATTENTION!  We urge you to follow the fire safety rules – especially in the forest, especially in dry weather in spring, summer or autumn.

Let's start with kindling. Everything that can quickly ignite, will be used: pine needles, tree bark.

1. No matter how heavy the rain is and how long it lasts, you can almost always find dry brushwood, broken branches, spruce branches as they are protected from dampness by other trees, stumps, boulders, etc.

Also, do not forget that it is FORBIDDEN to saw, cut down living trees, cut branches of bushes or trees. As a fuel, you need to use deadwood of aspen, birch, hazel, alder or oak.

2. Wood chips flare up best. With a knife or hatchet, prepare as much of it as possible.

3. Choosing a place for a fire is no less important than finding and collecting firewood.  If it rains continuously, a natural canopy is necessary: ideally, a large tree, under the crown of which you will build a fire.

4. You can use tree bark for kindling. Birch bark burns beautifully, even after rain. Polypore mushrooms are also an option. They grow in abundance in our forests and light up from a single match.

 5. A bonfire lights up better and easier if you lay it out in the form of a hut. Ignition rule: keep putting in thin pieces of wood until the fire flares up well.

6. An important point: in bad weather the ground is damp, therefore, flooring should be placed under the bottom of the fire to avoid puddles. Separate the wet surface with deadwood or logs.

7. Carry hunting matches with you. They are covered with a solution of Bertolet salt which makes them waterproof.  An alternative would be a lighter, but matches are preferable and more convenient.

 8. When the fire flares up, gradually put in thicker and damper firewood. Experienced foresters and hunters advise laying out a fire in the form of a grate or a well: this way, wet wood dries out faster and flares up better.