Summer Blaze

Make your evening gatherings brighter and cozier with an outdoor fire pit.

By Emily Cable

Nothing induces the same primordial trance as fire. It warms our bodies, cooks our food, even scares us. It also adds some great ambience to any gathering on a cool summer evening in Portland. Whether you want to relax with friends and a shaken martini in the cozy glow of the flames, or get back to cooking with this most basic of methods, a backyard fire pit will enhance any occasion.

The easiest, most convivial of outdoor fireplaces is the simple stone pit, according to Kevin Roberts, owner of Big Sky Landscaping (503-257-9275, www.bigskylandscaping.com), an Oregon City company that has built dozens of fire pits in the area. You can seat more people around a fire pit than around an outdoor fireplace, and you have the option of adding a cooking grate to accommodate everything from an elaborate meal for a sophisticated backyard soirée to some simple hot dogs and s’mores for a kids’ camping party.

If you have some elbow grease to spare, you can be hosting a roast beside a fire pit you built yourself in no time. Here’s the basic how-to from Roberts.

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