I watch a documentary "Man vs Wild" which showed the TV presenter Bear Grylls collecting wood and starting a fire. He somehow always manage to keep his campfire burning till dawn. How does one knows how much wood to collect such that it is adequate to last through the night till dawn? Is there a certain method of arranging the wood pile consisting of broken branches and twigs to maximize the period of combustion?

I watched a documentary "Man vs Wild" which showed the TV presenter Bear Grylls collecting wood and starting a fire. He somehow always manages to keep his campfire burning until dawn. How does one know how much wood to collect such that it is adequate to last throughout the night? Is there a certain method of arranging the wood pile consisting of broken branches and twigs to maximize the period of combustion?