What Types of Firewood Are Good for Signaling?

You increase the chance of being rescued if you know what firewood produces the best signal fire. However, in order to find this firewood, you must consider at least three factors. Doing so could mean the difference between eating a hot meal off a kitchen stove or over a campfire.

  1. Types of Wood

    • Hardwood, deciduous trees can create black smoke.

      Trees are classified as either softwoods or hardwoods. Combine softwoods with hardwoods to create a fire that is long-lasting, bright and smokey. However, do not create a fire using only softwoods or only hardwoods; softwoods produce a lot of smoke, but burn quickly, while hardwoods last longer, but produce considerably less smoke than softwoods.

      Softwoods, which are usually less dense than hardwoods and keep their needlelike leaves year-round, constitute of most coniferous trees. On the other hand, hardwoods, which are dense and shed their leaves when the weather turns cold, include maple, oak and poplar trees.

    Enviornments

    • Consider the time of year: A conifer spruce produces smoke in the spring and summer, but not in the fall or winter.

      Different environments harbor different species of wood, which ultimately affects how you build a signal fire. Because of this, know your environment. For example, if you're lost in the Arctic tundra, tie together clumps of dried mosses, grasses or any scrub plants. Along a tundra's stream bed, you may also find scrub willows, birch or any number of poplar trees. Temperate grasslands support oaks, willows and cottonwoods, while savanna grasslands hold clusters of deciduous trees. If you are wandering around a hardwood, deciduous forest, gather wood from walnut, oak, hickory and birch trees. Softwood, coniferous forests host pine, fir, cedar and tamarack trees, which contain bark for kindling. Find yucca (coniferous), sagebrush and mesquite (deciduous) trees in the desert, and coniferous trees such as hibiscus and balsa in the tropics.

    Considerations

    • If safe, always leave embers visible. A rescuer will spot them using infrared or other heat-seeking devices.

      Understand the other aspects of building a signal fire. The International Distress Signal is three fires in the form of a triangle or three fires spaced 25 meters apart in a straight line. If you can't find wood for kindling, substitute animal dung. If deciduous trees are not making a strong enough fire, place rubber or an oil-soaked rag on your fire to produce black smoke and use green vegetation to create white smoke. However, keep in mind the smoke needs to contrast with the terrain.

      In wet environments, place dry firewood on a base of thick, green boughs; it will protect the dry wood from getting wet and the green boughs will stop the fire from burning through to the ground.

    Warnings

    • It's risky to build signal fires. When placed in a fire, evergreen trees produce toxic smoke, which is dangerous on hot days when smoke tends to hug the ground. Also, build a fire in a clear opening so you avoid causing a brush or forest fire, and build more than one signal fire only if you can control them.