Here's the first draft. This is based on what I've learned over the years and currently practice here in the Ozarks.

Please let me know if I'm missing something, or if something needs to be corrected here. And any tips, suggestions, and criticisms are much appreciated.

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Campfires are legal in most of the National Parks and Wilderness areas here in the Ozarks where backpacking and camping are allowed but there are some rules and guidlines that you need to follow when you want to make a campfire.

The first thing to do is check to make sure campfires are legal where you'll be camping.

The next thing to do is check the Fire Weather Threat Level for the area you'll be camping. To do that you can go to the National Weather Service's web site at http://www.noaa.gov and get the forecast for your location, then click on the "Hazardous Weather" link or call the park service or fire department for the area you'll be going.

If the threat level is low and it's legal where your going then build a campfire and enjoy it.

If the threat level is high don't chance it even if it is legal where you're camping. You'll still be held responsible for damage and harm done by a wildfire you've started.

A campfire is not a "Bonfire". It really should be as small as practical for the people using it. It must always be under close watch and control. A small campfire is easier to build, maintain, control, and extinguish and it's less work to restore the area once you're done with it.

It's also not a good idea to try and build a fire that will be exposed to strong wind. Wind can scatter hot coals that burn whatever they land on, including people, tents, gear, and pets.

When you're ready to build your fire you want to select a safe location. Find a flat area that is open and at least 8 feet away from any trees or dry brush in all directions and is calm and sheltered from strong wind.

Clear away all flammable material (dry leaves, tall dry grass, sticks and twigs) from an area about 3 feet in diameter. If you can, dig a 12-20 inch bowl shaped hole about 2 inches deep in the center of the cleared area to make a fire pit.

You can surround the hole with dry rocks to make a fire ring if you like. Don't use rocks that are soaking wet, like those in a creek or river. They can hold water and crack or explode when heated and send hot pieces or rock flying at you.

Now you need to get fuel. There are three kinds of fuel used to make a campfire. Tinder, Kindling, and Firewood.

Tinder is the first thing you try to get burning when you want to start a fire. It needs to light off with just a match or spark.

You can make and bring tinder from things you have at home for little or no cost. Your Clothes Dryer lint makes great tinder. You can also dab cotton balls in Vaseline and keep them in a ziplock bag.

Another great source of tinder here in the Ozarks is the bark of fallen Red Cedar trees. Take a knife, or even a sharp edged piece of rock and scrape the bark to create a fine "wool" and gather up a several big handfuls and set it aside.

Kindling is set on fire with your tinder. Its purpose is to get your firewood burning.

Kindling is gathered from small dry twigs that are lying around. They should be about the thickness of toothpicks to as thick as a pencil. If you're in the forest kindling should be easy to find. Old fallen branches are a great source for finding all you need in one spot. Gather up a bunch of kindling, at least enough to fill your fire pit, and set it aside.

Firewood, for campfire purposes, is gathered from larger branches that have falled from trees and sat long enough to dry out. It should be from the thicknes of your thumb to no bigger than your wrist, or let's say, a baseball bat. Long branches should be broken into lenghts that are easy to handle. About two feet long works fine. If a branch is too thick to break it's too big for a campfire. You should never saw or break branches off live trees. They don't burn very well, sometimes not at all, and live trees need these branches to stay alive.

Gather up a stack of wood that's big enough to last you for as long as you'll need your fire going. A tight stack about 3 feet long and 2 feet high last a long time for me, your milage may vary. A surplus is nice to have ready to restart your fire in the morning, so keep that in mind when you gather your fuel.

To make your fire you should line your fire pit with a layer of firewood first. Then loosely stack a mound of kindling on top of that. Then place some tinder on top of that, then another loose layer of kindling and tinder. Finally, make a teepee or log cabin style stack of your thinnest firewood closely around your mound of tinder and kindling.

To start your fire light the tinder on the top of the mound. Once it's started to burn wait until your kindling is burning good and then keep adding more kindling until your firewood is burning. Add firewood as needed to keep it going.

To restart your fire first check to see if there are any embers. Embers are small pieces of glowing wood. You can place your hand above the ashes when the fire has died to check to see if there is still heat coming from buried embers. If you feel heat place a handful of tinder on top of the embers and loose pile of kindling on top of the tinder and wait a bit. Chances are it will ignite into flames. When it does place more kindling and then small pieces of firewood as it starts up again.

To extinguish your campfire you can douse it throughly with water, stir the coals, and repeat until it is completely out. Or you can let the fire burn down, then spread the coals around in your firepit and let them burn completely out while you wait.

If you build a campfire in the wilderness you need to restore the area before you leave. To do this you must make sure your fire is completely extinguished.

When you're positive your fire is completely out and no live coals remain take the rocks you've used for your fire ring and scatter them back to where you found them, scatter the cold or wet ashes from the fire throughout the cleared area you made around your fire pit and scoop the dirt you removed to make your fire pit back into the pit. Cover the area with the dry leaves, sticks, and twigs you removed.