Where to buy wood

[HappyCanadianCa]

Hi fellow campers. I’m relatively new to the RV world and am taking my first trip down the Oregon Coast from Canada. As our wood is not allowed to mix with American wood, where is the best places in the US, more specifically the Washington and Oregon Coast, to buy firewood at a reasonable price?

[rhagfo]

DrewE wrote:

bukhrn wrote:

That's possible, I don't recall seeing that statement, but I'm having a hard time figuring, Who heat treats fire wood, never heard of it, Lumber certainly. :h

Lumber is often kiln-dried, which is not quite the same thing—it's not a standardized process, for one. Heat treated firewood is what is usually sold in the little shrink-wrapped bundles you see at gas stations and such, at least around these parts. The people who bundle up the wood are, I assume, the ones who heat treat it.

The goal, of course, is to kill any nasty insects that may be in the wood so it won't spread them around. I think the USDA standards are something like at least 60 minutes at at least 60 degrees Celsius.

Of course, most anyone who heats with wood (rather than buying a bit for a campfire or similar) likely just sources it locally by the cord and doesn't bother heat treating, which would be less economical.

Well here at South Beach SP we are currently selling KD and Heat Treated firewood. Other SP may or may not have the same.

[DrewE]

bukhrn wrote:

That's possible, I don't recall seeing that statement, but I'm having a hard time figuring, Who heat treats fire wood, never heard of it, Lumber certainly. :h

Lumber is often kiln-dried, which is not quite the same thing—it's not a standardized process, for one. Heat treated firewood is what is usually sold in the little shrink-wrapped bundles you see at gas stations and such, at least around these parts. The people who bundle up the wood are, I assume, the ones who heat treat it.

The goal, of course, is to kill any nasty insects that may be in the wood so it won't spread them around. I think the USDA standards are something like at least 60 minutes at at least 60 degrees Celsius.

Of course, most anyone who heats with wood (rather than buying a bit for a campfire or similar) likely just sources it locally by the cord and doesn't bother heat treating, which would be less economical.

[bukhrn]

DrewE wrote:

bukhrn wrote:
bought a cute orange bag of 6 sticks of wood in Shenandoah NP,enough for 1 fire, $6 and it refused to burn, looking at the bag, notice a small tag that said the wood came from Wisconsin, kinda shot the 30 mi deal right in the butt. :S

Most likely, it also said it was certified as being heat treated to USDA standards. For the most part, heat treated firewood may be moved around (at least in its original packaging) legally, but a few states do have more stringent requirements than the USDA ones.

That's possible, I don't recall seeing that statement, but I'm having a hard time figuring, Who heat treats fire wood, never heard of it, Lumber certainly. :h

[DrewE]

bukhrn wrote:
bought a cute orange bag of 6 sticks of wood in Shenandoah NP,enough for 1 fire, $6 and it refused to burn, looking at the bag, notice a small tag that said the wood came from Wisconsin, kinda shot the 30 mi deal right in the butt. :S

Most likely, it also said it was certified as being heat treated to USDA standards. For the most part, heat treated firewood may be moved around (at least in its original packaging) legally, but a few states do have more stringent requirements than the USDA ones.

[bukhrn]

naturist wrote:
My experience has been that campground hosts, rangers, and the folks in the office can all tell you where to buy wood nearby. Moving wood from one campground to another is highly discouraged if not outright illegal due to various non-native insect species such as emerald ash borers, woliaed aphids, gypsy moths, etc. Wherever you go, do NOT stock up. Buy only what you plan to burn where you are, and leave any leftovers for the next camper. Yes, it’s more expensive, but the locals appreciate your not infecting their woods with new pests.

X-2, at least around here, you can buy firewood usually within 5 mi of a campground, which is good as they don't want you to move it more than 30 mi., and cheaper than that garbage being sold IN the NP or NF, bought a cute orange bag of 6 sticks of wood in Shenandoah NP,enough for 1 fire, $6 and it refused to burn, looking at the bag, notice a small tag that said the wood came from Wisconsin, kinda shot the 30 mi deal right in the butt. :S

[time2roll]

Please check with the ranger if using natural fallen wood from the camp. Many State and National parks want the natural wood to remain and decay to feed the next generation of trees. Back country rules are often different from the campground area overrun by people. Anyway I believe that is why people pay $10 for a box of wood.

[Grit_dog]

Does anyone pack a saw and hatchet anymore when they go camping?
I understand not much wood to be had at an RV Park, but most anywhere else I’ve camped in the forest firewoood is anything but scarce. Go for a walk, drag back a few limbs, make some campfire wood.
I was blown away in Yellowstone. Everyone burning the $10 a box firewood. Someone left a box at our site. It was like 5 pieces of wood and a bunch of chips and chunks.
People asked where we “found” all the firewood we had. We’d just stop on the side of the road, throw a bunch of dead n down wood in the truck. Did it twice and had raging campfires the whole time.....and gave some away too.
The whole “firewood and hamburger are made at the grocery store” mentality is sad. Especially from folks that should be wiser and more resourceful than that.

[Grit_dog]

newman fulltimer wrote:
you might want to check on burn bans before thinking about a fire

Oregon coast in Oct/Nov? The only ban would be if it was too wet to get a fire going!

[MarkelMack109]

I tried using the Duraflame logs a few times at different parks, my only complaint is I don't think that they give off enough heat. But in a pinch they are better than a mag-light and orange tissue paper.

I love sitting around our fire ring that we normally have stashed in the back of the truck.

[garmp]

Never thought I'd say it, but we're at the time, especially after driving for 4 or more hours, night time activities are limited and for us a 2 - 3 hour fire is more than enough. We use DuraFlame logs. Approved every where, easy lighting, and easy storage with no bugs or critters included.
But that's just us.

[Grit_dog]

Well this takes the off topic thread of the month award, which really is a distinction here! Lol

[ktmrfs]

We have lots of clean, dry, insect free wood, often kiln dried scraps we load up the truck with and a SS washing machine tub with a SS fine mesh screen for the top. Gives a very good fire, very little smoke, radiates lots of heat from the drum uses less wood than a open fire. Last time we were out they had just lifted the fire ban and allowed only "small fires". We had a decent but not big fire going in the washing machine drum, and when the FS came walking through the campground over came a ranger. He said from a distance our fire looked to big, but after he looked at our setup, his comment was, don't worry you probably have the safest and most smoke free fire going in the campground, wish we had something like that for the firepits for the whole campground.

[obgraham]

Now we've all had a bit of fun -- but I'm with the guy who said he buys it from the camp host. I don't think that job is anyone's get-rich-quick scheme, so if he makes a couple of bucks off me it's not going to bug me.

The ones that do bug me are when the wood is so wet it'll never burn, or else smokes out the whole place. (I'm talking to YOU, "Whistler's" at Jasper!)

[Ralph_Cramden]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:

naturist wrote:
My experience has been that campground hosts, rangers, and the folks in the office can all tell you where to buy wood nearby. Moving wood from one campground to another is highly discouraged if not outright illegal due to various non-native insect species such as emerald ash borers, woliaed aphids, gypsy moths, etc. Wherever you go, do NOT stock up. Buy only what you plan to burn where you are, and leave any leftovers for the next camper. Yes, it’s more expensive, but the locals appreciate your not infecting their woods with new pests.

The EAB was first found in Butler County PA in 2007. The state DNR and dept of agriculture initiated firewood bans and quarantines. As of 2016 62 of PAs 67 every counties has the EAB, and it has moved to NY, NJ,and all other NE states. The statewide county by county quarantine is no longer in effect. Quarantines and other such government decrees do nothing. The EAB migrating from the Detroit MI area where first discovered ( believed to have arrived in pallets from Asia) in 2002, and now in at least 31 states and some Canadian Provinces, had very little to do with campers moving firewood around and more to do with commercial movement of forest products.

Good luck telling that to people who recieve a paycheck from organizations such as donotmovefirewood.org, who have a vested interest in a calamity of epic proportions for their job security.

Are invasive insects a huge environmental issue as well as an economic one? You betcha. Are firewood rules going to solve it or even help.......not really. The whole scenario was brought on by the same people telling you not to move wood, who were not doing their job in 2002. I am told to not move firewood, but sawmill Joe can haul a load of freshly cut Ash that is never inspected, from MD or WV to his mill in PA, because he holds a piece of paper from the USDA. Horsepoopage.

And by the way, the PA DCNR advises you to not leave wood behind for the next camper but to burn it.

By all means, if a law doesn't completely yield the intended results you should just ignore it. If that is your mantra, I don't know why you would choose firewood as your law to ignore. It would be much more profitable to realize the war on drugs isn't working and then start selling heroin.

Start? How many dime bags can I sign you up for?

And I'm not breaking any laws, at least in PA. No current law or quarantine for Firewood is active regarding the EAB. The reason.......possibly common sense. It's all just a recommendation.

Now here is a another doosey of a law regarding firewood quarantined.


"The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has extended the area placed under quarantine for an invasion of spotted lanternfly to include nine additional municipalities in the southeastern part of the state. Eighty-four municipalities in the southeaster part of the state are now affected. The quarantine restricts movement of any material or object that can spread the pest, including firewood or wood products, brush or yard waste, remodeling or construction materials and waste, grapevines for decorative purposes or as nursery stock, and any outdoor household articles such as lawnmowers, grills, tarps and other equipment, as well as trucks and vehicles not typically stored indoors, the state reported."

So you can't legally move construction materials or the truck your hauling them in between neighboring towns or boroughs in the quarantine area, unless the truck is typically stored indoors. Talk about bureaucratic BS LOL.

FYI the spotted lanternfly is believed to have arrived in Berks County PA in 2014 by hitching a ride in crates of granite, or possibly in the firewood filled bed of an F450 dually towing a 5er driven from Chinabeing operated by Sum Ting Wong.

[Phil_M]

I read these posts a lot and do not usually add my 2 cents however I can't resist here. I went to an RV park in southern Nevada and when checking in I purchased a couple bundles of fire wood. After I got set up and was ready to set up the fire pit I looked at the wood and what a surprise, it was imported from Canada. So bringing my own wood does not bother me at all.