Cooking over a campfire safely

A campfire meal is one of the best parts of being outdoors, and one of the easiest ways to start a wildfire. Cooking adds risk because you are feeding the fire longer and moving around it with food and tools. Safety is mostly preparation.

Before you light anything

1. Check fire restrictions. Land managers issue burn bans and restrictions, sometimes daily, during dry or windy conditions. Check with the park, forest, or local fire authority. A ban overrides any guide, including this one.
2. Use an existing fire ring where one is provided. Leave No Trace guidance favours existing rings, small fires, and stoves where fires are not appropriate.
3. Pick a safe spot: away from tents, gear, overhanging branches, dry grass, and roots. Clear flammable material from around the ring.
4. Have extinguishing gear ready before you light: a full bucket of water and a shovel.

Build for cooking, not for show

Cooking needs embers, not tall flames.

• Keep the fire small, about the size you actually need to cook.
• Burn hardwood down to a bed of embers before cooking. See Choosing wood for cooking fires.
• Rake embers to one side and cook over them, keeping a small flame at the back to supply more. This is a campfire version of a two-zone fire.
• Use a sturdy grate, long-handled tongs, and heat-resistant gloves.

Cooking safely

• Keep children and pets back with a clear, agreed boundary.
• Never leave the fire unattended, even briefly.
• Cook meat to safe temperatures. Carry a probe thermometer. USDA minimums: 145°F (63°C) plus a 3-minute rest for whole cuts of beef, pork, and lamb; 160°F (71°C) for ground meat; 165°F (74°C) for poultry.
• Keep raw meat cold and separate in the cooler, and use separate boards and tongs for raw and cooked food.

Carbon monoxide: never cook inside shelter

Charcoal, camp stoves, and smouldering embers produce carbon monoxide, an invisible, odourless gas. The CDC warns never to burn charcoal inside a home, tent, camper, or garage. Do not bring a "dying" grill or a bucket of coals into a tent for warmth.

Putting the fire out: drown, stir, feel

1. Drown the fire with water until the hissing stops.
2. Stir the ashes and embers with a shovel, scraping partly burned sticks.
3. Drown again.
4. Feel with the back of your hand held close. If it is too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave.

If water is scarce, mix in dirt or sand and stir, but do not bury hot coals: they can smoulder underground and reignite.

Limitations

Rules differ by country, state, and land manager, and change with conditions. Always follow local instructions. This page is general guidance, not a substitute for them.