Rendering is done via low res imposters at long range. You can see your home totally vanish in the distance if you have a large home, then suddenly pop in. I don't think you can make the fire visible beyond pop in range, which is a good long ways out, but not as far as a fire on a mountain would be seen in the dark.
The hearth is easy to place and good enough for this given the pop in distance issue, if the bonfire is giving you trouble.