Build a Beach Bonfire

 

Warm her heart, and heat up your beach party

First thing to do when thinking about building a bonfire anywhere is to check and see if it's legal. If you're in a state park, ask at the welcome center. On municipal beaches, flag down any policeman.

SAFETY FIRST

Pick a spot 50-feet from the dunes to keep the embers from going into any nearby woods, brush or towns, suggests New Jersey State Park policeman Sergeant Graham. Stay far enough from the water so the tide isn't going to end your party before you're ready.

Dig a pit one to two-feet deep. The larger the fire, larger the hole. Dig down so you keep most of the fire surrounded by sand. Sparks will have more trouble jumping out. Pile the sand from the pit into a berm so it'll block the wind.

THE EASY WAY

"Get yourself a Duraflame log," says Sergeant Graham. "No, seriously!" According to Graham, it's the easiest, fastest, best-smelling way to get the fire started. Once it's going, pile with split logs, teepee style, "Until you get the desired height."

THE FANCY WAY

If you really want to impress, you could go all Boy Scout. Certified Eagle Scout, Jeff Menard says collect really dry pieces of driftwood, and some dry grass, newspaper or cardboard (like beer boxes) for kindling. Put the grass, newspaper and smallest sticks underneath the teepee.

Take out your waterproof matches (What do you want, he's an Eagle Scout!), and light the end of a very tightly rolled up newspaper. This will make a nice torch you can use to start the kindling and then add to the pile to keep it going.

CLEAN UP!

When it's time to call it a night, throw water on your fire. "When you think you threw enough water, throw more on it," says Menard. " You must be very careful not to leave hot coals under the sand in case some people step or dig in that area." Clean up any big pieces of wood, and use that berm you built to cover the coals and fill the hole.