Dakota Fire Hole To The Rescue!

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If you've ever been camping, you know how difficult it can be to build a proper camp fire. Sure, it may not always be a challenge, but imagine having limited resources and being in a real life survival situation.

And if you've ever watched any survivalist television shows, then you already know that if you are stranded outside, then getting a fire started is a top priority. It provides heat, comfort and a means to cook food with or boil water to make is safe for drinking.

But there are numerous problems with your traditional camp fire design that could pose a serious risk to your safety during a survival scenario. One is that it will produce a lot of smoke, and the other is that the flame can be seen from quite a distance. This is important if your anonymity is important.

Well the Dakota fire hole is a brilliant, expert survivalist trick to avoiding these problems, and yet although it's so small, it burns very hot which reduces the presence of smoke. Because it acts like a bellows, the fire can be intense, but because it's dug into the ground, the flame can be hidden. Here's how you build a Dakota fire hole.

1. The first thing to do is get the right location. You do not want this near any marsh or wetlands, as the hole could fill quickly with water. You also want to determine whether or not you can avoid hitting rock or roots when constructing it.

2. Remove sod about 1 foot in diameter. Once you have carved this out, set is aside and dig a hole that is 1 foot deep as well as wide.

3. Next, determine the path that the wind is blowing. Simple wetting your finger and holding it up can help you determine this, even when the air is very still. When you feel the area of your finger drying faster than the
other, this is a good indicator of the wind direction.

4. Facing this direction you will want to dig an air tunnel to go to the Dakota fire hole. This should be about a foot away, should be 3 - 5 inches in diameter and should angle downward to meet the base of the main fire hole.

When you are all finished it should look like this..

This works well, because the air will travel down the hole and feel the fire. The oxygen makes the coals burn hotter and works much like a bellows. This is good for cooking or boiling water, but will reduce the sight of flames from a distance and can easily be covered up to conceal your tracks.

You can now also use the Dakota fire hole for cooking as well. Because the top of the hole that you dug is flush with the ground, it's easy to lay a pot or grill surface across from it. If you don't have that and you are in a pinch, you can use some other item as well. A thin rock for instance would work in this case for cooking fish on.