It not only provides a means to prepare food, but also to get warm and to melt snow or ice for water. It also provides you with a significant psychological boost by making you feel a little more secure in your situation. Use the techniques described in Chapter 7 to build and light your fire. If you are in enemy territory, remember that the smoke, smell, and light from your fire may reveal your location.
Light reflects from surrounding trees or rocks, making even indirect light a source of danger.
Smoke tends to go straight up in cold, calm weather, making it a beacon during the day, but helping to conceal the smell at night. In warmer weather, especially in a wooded area, smoke tends to hug the ground, making it less visible in the day, but making its odor spread. If you are in enemy territory, cut low tree boughs rather than the entire tree for firewood. Fallen trees are easily seen from the air. All wood will burn, but some types of wood create more smoke than others.