To cut to the chase - technology is your friend.

It really helps to plan ahead. A tarp can be pitched to produce a sheltered spot, or such a spot can be found -absolutely nothing eats a rock shelter in the rain. When I started, we totally depended upon fires and we became very good at lighting them in adverse conditions. Persistence was a very good quality, as when looking for dry tinder materials. it is amazing how that stuff can survive in dense thickets of brush, under downed trees, or similar spots. It is important to have a good match safe, Bic lighter, and/or firesteel. Redundancy pays off here.

Eventually, we invoked technology and started bringing backpacking stoves, which these days can be astonishingly light - mere ounces, including fuel. Many alcohol stoves are homemade from discarded food cans, so cost is trivial, as well.

Nowadays, I almost always pack some kind of "stove" and fuel on ever trip. It guarantees a fire under any conditions, it is safer than a traditional wood fire (a most important consideration in the arid southwest), and it helps minimize my footprint and my impact on the natural scene. I can always whip up that nice cup of tea, no matter what. My vehicle routinely carries a mini-Trangia cookset and stove, one of my favorites - light,cheap, and dependable. Once in a while I will light a traditional campfire. Nothing else has the psychological impact of a good campfire, which can be vital in some situations. Nothing else is quite so versatile a signal to advertise your location, if that is your need.....But here is a controversial thought - the campfire is obsolete and is generally an ill advised practice, except in emergencies.

My lightest and most compact "stove" is sitting on my desk as we speak. It is all contained within a Sierra cup; the contents weigh less than that cup does when brimming with a nice cup of tea. The stove itself cost about twelve bucks, and the price of everything else in the kit was trivial.