How to Put Out a Campfire

Extinguishing a Campfire With Water

Drown the campfire in water. Fill a bucket with water and pour it on top of the campfire. Don't stand directly above or downhill from the fire to avoid inhaling smoke or hot steam. Continue pouring water over the fire until all the hissing from the hot embers stops.

Mix up the ashes and embers. Use a stick or shovel to mix up the ashes and embers into the soil. As you stir the remnants of the fire, you may uncover more red embers or burning wood which must be extinguished before you leave.

Scrape off the burnt parts on the sticks and logs. Use your stick or shovel to scrape off any partially burnt sticks or logs to ensure that they are fully extinguished. This may reveal more burning embers under the surface of the wood.

Pour more water on the fire. After you've stirred the fire thoroughly, you'll want to add more water to it to extinguish any remaining embers that may have come off burning pieces of wood.

Feel the logs and coals to make sure they aren't hot. Put your palms up next to logs and coals. If you don't feel any heat radiating off of them, you can touch them with your hands. Any warm or hot pieces of your fire must be doused down with more water.

Repeat the steps until the fire is cool to the touch. Continue dousing the area and mixing the soot and embers to ensure that you've put out the fire fully. The fire is fully extinguished when it's completely cool to the touch. The rocks surrounding the fire should be cool to the touch when the fire is fully extinguished.

Smothering a Fire with Dirt or Sand

Wait until the fire dies down. Plan on leaving the campsite when your fire completely dies down. Do not add logs to your fire if you know you are leaving soon so that the fire can stop burning. If you need to extinguish the fire quickly, this is not an ideal method. Instead, use water to put out your fire.

Mix the ashes together with a stick or a shovel. Use a shovel or a long stick to poke the embers left over in the fire. Uncover large unburnt logs or sticks to make sure that there are no embers remaining under the ashes.

Stir dirt or sand into the embers. You just want enough dirt or sand to smother the embers and to extinguish the fire fully. Do not cover or bury the fire, as this could create a fire under the surface of the dirt that could reignite later and will make the sand or dirt incredibly hot.

Touch the fire to make sure the fire has been put out. Put your hand a couple of inches away from the coals in the fire to make sure that it's cooled off. If it still feels warm, repeat the steps until the ashes are completely cooled.