Are you worried about keeping your fire warm all night long?
Do you want constant heat to help you survive a cold night?
Keeping a fire going all night may not be safe in every situation, but it’s good to know in case you ever need to.
There are ways to do this safely and enjoy your camping trip a little more.
This is why I made this guide on how to keep a campfire going all night.
To keep a campfire going all night, you need to provide enough heat, oxygen, and fuel. There are 7 easy ways to help with this including:
- One half inch-rule
- Use Slow Burning Wood
- Add A Few Rocks
- Cover With Ash
- Use A Self-Feeding Fire Design
- Use a Tipi Design
- Add Or Create Ventilation
Check out the rest of the article for directions on how to get this done.
Table of Contents
7 Ways To Keep A Campfire Going All Night
Each of these tricks will help your campfire last longer. Some may be combined to make the whole process easier.
Take a careful read and decide which one or ones are right for you based on what you have available.
#1 One half inch-rule
The first thing to keep in mind is the half-inch rule.
This governs how much wood is needed and how long it will last on fire.
Of course, this rule isn’t set in stone and depends on the type of wood, the heat in the coals, and access to oxygen.
But this will give you a good idea of how long a fire will last.
The rule is:
For every half-inch of wood, it’ll take about an hour to burn through.
This rule changes with wood thicker than 6 inches. At this thickness and above, it switches to about an inch per hour.
When planning out how much fuel you’ll need, keep this formula in mind.
Thicker woods take longer to burn (as long as the fire is previously hot enough).
#2 Use Slow Burning Wood
Slower burning woods will be better for a long night.
These woods don’t usually burn hotter, but you don’t need the fire roaring.
You’re looking for a long and slow burn.
If possible, choose one of these woods:
- Ash
- Oak
- Maple
- Cherry
- Birch
- Beech
Kindling, newspaper, and twigs burn faster and are perfect for starting a campfire.
Other woods are good for the initial fire too because they burn hot and fast.
It helps to build a good bed of coals which is essential for a long-lasting fire.
But once the fire is established, switch to thicker, slower burning wood.
Learn how to start a fire without a lighter.
#3 Add A Few Rocks
Put a few large rocks inside the fire.
Weird, right?
They don’t burn! Why do we do this?
Rocks are good heat conductors. They hold heat for a long time and help to maintain the energy level of the fire.
Some hot countries don’t even use fires to cook.
The air and sun warm up rocks enough they place their cookware directly on them!
Take a few large rocks and carefully place them through the bed of coals.
#4 Cover With Ash
It may seem counterintuitive to bury the logs you want to burn, but if you have a hot coal bed, covering the wood is a great trick for long-burning fire.
This is a tip many people don’t know!
The coals will continue to burn and heat the wood, but it also diffuses the heat from directly beneath the wood to all over.
In the long term, this creates a slower, but consistent, burn.
Warning! Don’t actually “bury” the wood.
Cover it well, but still, allow for air.
Oxygen is needed for the burning process.
#5 Use A Self-Feeding Fire Design
This trick is cool. There’s no other way to say it.
I’ve personally done this a few times, and while it takes more time to set up, it’s very hands-off once done.
However, make sure you set this up securely or you may accidentally cause some burning wood to fall out of your fire pit.
A self-feeding fire uses two “ramps” pointed into the fire pit.
Wood is stacked up the two ramps.
As the fire burns down the wood inside the fire to ash, the new wood slides down into the fire.
For this, you’ll want to get your fire going first before you set up the ramps and stack the wood.
I didn’t do this the first time, and my self-feeding fire was an epic failure.
Take a look at this video for specific directions.
#6 Use a Tipi Design
If the self-feeding fire is too much or you don’t have the materials you need, a tipi or cone design is the next best thing.
This design allows for ample air circulation to get through the center of the coals.
The bottom parts of the wood will burn while the upper parts gradually fall in the fire.
I prefer tipi design for starting a fire as well, though I admit a cabin or box style works just as well.
For overnight fires, cone-shaped is the best, however.
Check out how to make a fire for camping.
#7 Add Or Create Ventilation
Fuel and heat are easy elements of fire to remember, but oxygen is equally as important.
More oxygen = more fire.
It’s a common mistake to set up a fire for going all night, but then the ashes block out the ventilation and the fire dies.
Do your best to ensure oxygen is always able to get to the base of the fire.
Use large rocks to form the ring of your fire.
Give them space between to allow for air all night long.
Dig the fire pit down and dig trenches to ensure airflow.
If you like watching tips instead of just reading them, you may also enjoy checking out this video.
Fire Safety: Should You Keep A Camp Fire Going All Night?
The Boy Scout in me has to play Devil’s advocate here.
Should you keep a campfire going all night?
The general idea is that “if it’s too safe to touch, it’s too safe to leave.”
Does this apply to keep a fire burning all night?
Yes, and no, in my opinion.
Safety is important and a fire left to its own devices is dangerous, but there are some things to keep in mind to make it safer.
- Keep the flames small
- Clear out the area very well around the fire pit
- Dig the pit down slightly
- Keep water nearby
- Don’t leave the area
- Avoid this in windy weather
- Don’t do this when the weather has been dry
- Think: Long and low
Some areas where you camp may not allow this.
Always follow local and state laws in regards to fires.
When should you keep a fire going all night?
The best answer is for survival.
If it’s cold and you don’t have access to proper shelter, keep your fire going!
In campgrounds and such, you won’t need to do this.
But if you want to show off these same skills and set up a long fire to keep during the whole day, go for it!
Bonus: How To Start A Fire From Ashes
Let’s be honest, even pro campers and fire bugs will do all these tricks and something goes wrong.
The fire goes out.
What do you do then?
Even if the fire dies down, it’s easy to restart the fire.
Chances are (unless it rained), the ashes are still hot or at least warm.
This is a huge help when restarting a fire.
You redo all the normal steps for starting a fire:
- Place kindling/fire starters in the center.
- Carefully stack small branches/twigs around them to allow airflow.
- When you see flames, add larger branches.
- As these catch, stack with small logs.
The biggest thing to do before any of this is to build your embers and coals into a small hill or pile.
Don’t turn them over or bury them in the dirt.
This will put them out.
Stacking like this will concentrate the heat and make the whole process much faster.
Don’t forget to clear out space for the oxygen to get in wherever it can.
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed reading about how to keep a fire going all night and find the information helpful.
Keep in mind all the tips from above, and I’m sure you’ll have a good time.
From a Boy Scout’s perspective, take great care to clear out the area around the fire pit and don’t go to sleep with high flames visible.
Even so, consider when to use this carefully.
But now you know, so get out there and enjoy the fresh air!
