Winter is on its way in Wisconsin — and with it are the cold temperatures and snow. Families that enjoy spending cool nights around their backyard fire pit may want to know if they can use their fire pit in the winter. Many may have questions about how to start a fire in the winter, and Fox River Fire Rings may be able to help with this quick list of tips and tricks.

3 Steps to Building a Fire in the Winter

Just imagine — you and your closest family and friends standing around a warm, cozy fire in your backyard sipping hot cocoa or hot apple cider and it starts to snow. It feels like it should be a painting, and more than a few Wisconsin families may find themselves in that scenario this winter. But first thing is first, you need to be able to get a fire started in your backyard fire pit. 

Building a fire in the winter poses a few challenges that you need to know and understand before you get started:

• Snow and melted snow can make the ground in your fire pit and the wood you plan to use wet, damp, and more difficult to light. 
• Dry wood and kindling are the foundation of a good fire and those elements can be in short supply in the winter, making it a real challenge to get your fire started and sustain it.
• The strong, cold winds that are common in the Midwest in the winter can make it difficult to get a flame started without being blown out. 

When you are faced with those challenges in the winter, you can still build a good fire in your backyard fire pit when you take the right steps. Whether you are building a fire for heat, to cook an outdoor meal, or just for ambiance at a backyard winter get together, if you follow these few steps, you will be able to build a good fire.

1. Find and Clear a Location

Just like a fire at any other time of the year, it is important that you build your fire a safe distance away from flammable materials and structures. When you have found the right location, you may need to remove snow and debris from the area. A layer of snow at the base of your fire can make it difficult to get your fire started, making it important that you either clear the snow from the area or create a layer of rocks or logs to build your fire on.

2. Collect Your Fire Materials

Dry wood and tinder are the key to starting a fire in the winter. When there is snow on the ground, it can be difficult to find dry fire wood or tinder. If you are purchasing or storing your own firewood, it is no trouble to find good, dry firewood. If you are in the woods, you may be able to find dry wood underneath the branches of large pine trees and you can use pine needles, birch bark, or old dead leaves as tinder. 

3. Build, Start, and Maintain Your Fire

It is time to build, start, and maintain your fire. When you have cleared your fire pit, it is good practice to build a platform of rocks or dry wood to build your fire on, so it remains above the cold, frozen ground. Have larger pieces of firewood, smaller kindling, and tinder ready to go before you build your tinder bundle and get ready to light your fire. When you have gotten a steady flame from the tinder bundle, you can slowly add kindling (small branches or pencil-sized sticks) to build up the fire, and when that is sustainable you can add larger pieces of firewood.

You may want to use a fire starter to help you get your fire burning in the cold, wet winter weather. Here are a few options you may want to try this winter:

• Ferrocerium Rod
• All-Weather Fire Starter
• Cotton Balls with Petroleum Jelly
• Dryer Lint

READ MORE: 5 Essentials for Your Backyard Fire Pit

Do you want to learn how to start a fire in winter? We hope that this quick overview that highlights the challenges of starting a fire in the winter and the steps you can take to build a fire in cold, wet weather will help this season.

Contact Fox River Fire Rings today to learn more about our customer backyard fire rings!