HOW TO TEND TO A FIRE

WINTER IS COMING

The weather is cold, and you have exhausted all available body heat. The seasons have shifted, and you need to adapt.

A fire was lit before you arrived. No one remembers exactly who struck the first match, only that it solved an immediate problem and then required attention.

You may not understand the fire, but you intuit you will need it. It inspires both fear and intrigue, but the warmth generate merely by drawing your gaze closer to its flicker leaves your eyes eager to learn more. You feel something ancestral stir in your loins.* *See: MATERIALS

MATERIALS

Take three calming deep breaths. Draw upon the wisdom of those who have come before you who you know in your bones have lit this, and many other fires, before.

Use wood gathered from known ground. Feel free to explore outside of your known territory. Take time to smell the flowers and talk to the animals. They may have sage advice on where to source the best materials. Be wary of the largest animals. Seek advice from those who may be smaller in stature.

Do not necessarily burn whatever is closest or loudest. Do not burn things simply because they are dry and plentiful. Treated wood burns brightly at first and releases things you cannot see until it is too late.

If you cannot say where something came from, do not feed it to the fire. It may not be safe to ingest.

Gather more than you need. Fires fail when people assume abundance will continue without effort.

BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION

Clear the ground before adding fuel. Remove leaves, debris, old remains. This work is slow and rarely praised, but it determines whether the fire warms, spreads, or extinguishes.

Place stones deliberately. They must be set before the fire grows, not after. Once heat is established, boundaries become harder to move.

A fire built on unstable ground will eventually choose its own direction.

ON CARE

A well-tended fire does not demand constant attention, but it does require presence. Add fuel regularly and in measured amounts. Sudden surges create smoke, and neglect leads to collapse.

Stoke only when necessary.

ON THE WATCH

If the fire must last through the night, someone must remain awake.

This role should rotate. The watcher’s task is not to admire the fire, but to notice changes: a shift in wind, a settling inward, a reach beyond the stones. When everyone sleeps, the fire does not.

ON STORIES

People will gather near the fire. They will talk. They will remember why the fire matters. Stories are not decoration. If the fire becomes entertainment rather than responsibility, people move too close or too far away. Both are dangerous.

A fire without stories becomes a tool. A fire without listeners becomes a threat.

ON MAINTENANCE

Ash must be cleared. Old fuel accumulates and blocks airflow.

Clearing ash is thankless work. It does not feel like progress, but fires smothered by their own history extinguish or flare unpredictably.* *See: ON FAILURE

ON CONTROLLED BURNS

Some ground must be burned to remain safe.

This should be done deliberately, with preparation and agreement. Small burns prevent larger ones later.

Refusing all fire does not create safety. It creates buildup.

ON FAILURE

A fire can go out and a fire can spread. It can also consume what it was meant to protect.

These outcomes are the result of inattention, imbalance, or the belief that someone else was responsible.

REMEMBER!

Tending to a fire is a shared responsibility.

It keeps the community warm only as long as people care for it together.