Fire lit at a campsite
A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of camping. At summer camps, the word campfire often refers to an event (ceremony, get together, etc.) at which there is a fire. Some camps refer to the fire itself as a campfire.
History.
First campfire.
A new analysis of burned antelope bones from caves in Swartkrans, South Africa, confirms that "Australopithecus robustus" and/or "Homo erectus" built campfires roughly 1.6 million years ago. Nearby evidence within Wonderwerk Cave, at the edge of the Kalahari Desert, has been called the oldest known controlled fire. Microscopic analysis of plant ash and charred bone fragments suggests that materials in the cave were not heated above about . This is consistent with preliminary findings that the fires burned grasses, brush, and leaves. Such fuel would not produce hotter flames. The data suggests humans were cooking prey by campfire as far back as the first appearance of "Homo erectus" 1.9 million years ago.
Safety.
Finding a site.
Ideally, campfires should be made in a fire ring. If a fire ring is not available, a temporary fire site may be constructed. Bare rock or unvegetated ground is ideal for a fire site. Alternatively, turf may be cut away to form a bare area and carefully replaced after the fire has cooled to minimize damage. Another way is to cover the ground with sand, or other soil mostly free of flammable organic material, to a depth of a few inches. A ring of rocks is sometimes constructed around a fire. Fire rings, however, do not fully protect material on the ground from catching fire. Flying embers are still a threat, and the fire ring may become hot enough to ignite material in contact with it, or the heat the water to a vapor thereby cracking the rocks.
Safety measures.
Campfires can spark wildfires. As such, it is important for the fire builder to take multiple safety precautions, including: 
Types of fuel.
There are three types of material involved in building a fire without manufactured fuels or modern conveniences such as lighters:
In most realistic cases nowadays, non-natural additions to the fuels mentioned above will be used. Often, charcoal lighters like hexamine fuel tablets or ethyl alcohol will be used to start the fire, as well as various types of scrap paper. With the proliferation of packaged food, it is quite likely that plastics will be incinerated as well, a practice that not only produces toxic fumes but will also leave polluted ashes behind because of incomplete combustion at too-low open fire temperatures.
Construction styles.
There are a variety of designs to choose from in building a campfire. A functional design is important in the early stages of a fire. Most of them make no mention of fuelwood—in most designs, fuelwood is never placed on a fire until the kindling is burning strongly.
Teepee.
The tipi (or teepee) fire-build takes some patience to construct. First, the tinder is piled up in a compact heap. The smaller kindling is arranged around it, like the poles of a tipi. For added strength, it may be possible to lash some of the sticks together. A tripod lashing is quite difficult to execute with small sticks, so a clove hitch should suffice. (Synthetic rope should be avoided since it produces pollutants when it burns.) Then the larger kindling is arranged above the smaller kindling, taking care not to collapse the tipi. A separate tipi as a shell around the first one may work better. Tipi fires are excellent for producing heat to keep people warm. The gases from the bottom quickly come to the top as you add more sticks.
One downside to a Tipi fire is that when it burns, the logs become unstable and can fall over. This is especially concerning with a large fire.
Log cabin.
A log cabin fire-build likewise begins with a tinder pile. The kindling is then stacked around it, as in the construction of a log cabin. The first two kindling sticks are laid parallel to each other, on opposite sides of the tinder pile. The second pair is laid on top of the first, at right angles to it, and also on opposite sides of the tinder. More kindling is added in the same manner. The smallest kindling is placed over the top of the assembly. Of all the fire-builds, the log cabin is the least vulnerable to premature collapse, but it is also inefficient because it makes the worst use of convection to ignite progressively larger pieces of fuel. However, these qualities make the log cabin an ideal cooking fire as it burns for a long period of time and can support cookware.
A variation on the log cabin starts with two pieces of fuelwood with a pile of tinder between them, and small kindling laid over the tops of the logs, above the tinder. The tinder is lit, and the kindling is allowed to catch fire. When it is burning briskly, it is broken and pushed down into the consumed tinder, and the larger kindling is placed over the top of the logs. When that is burning well, it is also pushed down. Eventually, a pile of kindling burns between two pieces of fuelwood, and soon the logs catch fire from it.
Another variation is called the funeral pyre method because it is used for building funeral pyres. Its main difference from the standard log cabin is that it starts with thin pieces and moves up to thick pieces. If built on a large scale, this type of fire-build collapses in a controlled manner without restricting the airflow.
Hybrid.
A hybrid fire combines the elements of both the tipi and the log cabin creating an easily lit yet stable fire structure. The hybrid is made by first erecting a small tipi and then proceeding to construct a log cabin around it. This fire structure combines benefits of both fire types: the tipi allows the fire to ignite easily and the log cabin sustains the fire for a long time.
Cross-fire.
A cross-fire is built by positioning two pieces of wood with the tinder in between. Once the fire is burning well, additional pieces of wood are placed on top in layers that alternate directions. This type of fire creates coals suitable for cooking.
Lean-to.
A lean-to fire-build starts with the same pile of tinder as the tipi fire-build. Then, a long, thick piece of kindling is driven into the ground at an angle, so that it overhangs the tinder pile. The smaller pieces of kindling are leaned against the big stick so that the tinder is enclosed between them.
In an alternative method, a large piece of fuelwood or log can be placed on the ground next to the tinder pile. Then kindling is placed with one end propped up by the larger piece of fuelwood, and the other resting on the ground so that the kindling is leaning over the tinder pile. This method is useful in very high winds, as the piece of fuel wood acts as a windbreak.
Rakovalkea.
The traditional Finnish "rakovalkea" (lit. 'slit bonfire'), or "nying" in Scandinavian languages, also called by English terms long log fire or gap fire, is constructed by placing one long and thick piece of fuelwood (log) atop another, parallel, and bolstering them in place with four sturdy posts driven into the ground. Traditionally, whole un-split tree trunks provide the fuelwood. Kindling and tinder are placed between the logs in sufficient quantity (while avoiding the very ends) to raise the upper log and allow ventilation. The tinder is always lit at the center so the bolstering posts near the ends do not burn prematurely.
The rakovalkea has two significant features. First, it burns slowly but steadily when lit; it does not require arduous maintenance, but burns for a very long time. A well constructed rakovalkea of two thick logs of two meters in length can warm two lean-to shelters for a whole sleeping shift. The construction causes the logs themselves to protect the fire from the wind. Thus, exposure to smoke is unlikely for the sleepers; nevertheless someone should always watch in case of an emergency. Second, it can be easily scaled to larger sizes (for a feast) limited only by the length of available tree trunks. The arrangement is also useful as beacon fire, i.e. a temporary light signal for ships far in the sea.
Swedish torch.
The Swedish torch ("Schwedenfackel" or "Schwedenfeuer") is also known by other names, including Swedish (log) candle, and Swedish log stove.
This fire is unique because it uses only one piece of fairly-sized wood as its fuel. The log is either partially cut (though some variants involve completely splitting it) and then set upright. Ideally, the log should be cut evenly and placed on a level surface for stability. Tinder and kindling are added to the preformed chamber created by the initial cuts. Eventually, the fire becomes self-feeding. The flat, circular top provides a surface for placing a kettle or pan for cooking, boiling liquids, and more. In some instances, the elevated position of the fire can serve as a better beacon than a typical ground-based campfire.
Keyhole fire.
A keyhole fire is made in a keyhole-shaped fire ring, and is used in cooking. The large round area is used to build a fire to create coals. As coals develop, they are scraped into the rectangular area used for cooking.
Top lighter.
A "top lighter" fire is built similar to a log cabin or pyre, but instead of the tinder and kindling being placed inside the cabin, it is placed in a tipi on top. The small tipi is lighted on top, and the coals eventually fall down into the log cabin. Outdoor youth organizations often build these fires for "council fires" or ceremonial fires. They burn predictably, and with some practice a builder can estimate how long they will last. They also do not throw off much heat, which isn't needed for a ceremonial fire. The fire burns from the top down, with the layer of hot coals and burning stubs igniting the next layer down.
Another variation to the top lighter, log cabin, or pyre is known by several names, most notably the pyramid, self-feeding, and upside-down [method]. The reasoning for this method are twofold. First, the layers of fuelwood take in the heat from the initial tinder/kindling, therefore, it is not lost to the surrounding ground. In effect, the fire is "off the ground", and burns its way down through its course. And secondly, this fire type requires minimal labor, thereby making it ideal as a fire of choice before bedding down for the evening without having to get up periodically to add fuelwood and/or stoke the fire to keep it going. Start by adding the largest fuelwood in a parallel "layer", then continue to add increasingly smaller and smaller fuelwood layers perpendicularly to the last layer. Once enough wood is piled, there should be a decent "platform" to make the tipi [tinder/kindling] to initiate the fire.
Dakota smokeless pit fire.
A Dakota smokeless pit fire is a tactical fire used by the United States military as the flame produces a low light signature, reduced smoke, and is easier to ignite under strong wind conditions. Two small holes are dug in the ground: one vertical for the firewood and the other slanted to the bottom of the first hole to provide a draft of air for nearly complete combustion. Optional are flat stones to partially cover the first hole and provide support for cookery, and a tree over the pits to disperse the smoke.
Star Fire.
A Star Fire, or Indian Fire, is the fire design often depicted as the campfire of the old West. Someone lays six or so logs out like the spokes of a wheel (star-shaped). They start the fire at the "hub," and push each log towards the center as the flames consume the ends.
Ignition.
Once the fire is built, the tinder is lighted, using one of several methods
A reasonably skilful fire-builder using reasonably good material only needs one match. The tinder burns brightly, but reduced to glowing embers within half a minute. If the kindling does not catch fire, the fire-builder must gather more tinder, determine what