2x4 was probably southern pine, which grows very fast and would make for lousy firewood. (It would burn too quickly.)
Wood for campfires is typically either hardwood or slower-growing pine, thus the higher cost.
I've little sympathy for people who complain about moving wood. I've cut down 8 trees already this year, and have identified another 14 that need to be taken down before fall (they're dead, and if they fall could hit the house or other things I don't want destroyed). I'm in my second year of an Emerald Ash Borer infestation (courtesy of campers who introduced the bug to the local state park, from which is has spread outward), and expect to lose over half of the trees (roughly 150) in my small woods before it's done. I'm treating 10 trees in high value locations to try to keep them alive while replacements grow.
