CAMPING -- Campers are finding a windfall of sorts at campgrounds around the region -- plenty of firewood available on the ground, ready to scavenge, cut, split and use.

Forest Service crews worked overtime before the holiday weekend to identify and cut down potentially dangerous trees at developed camping sites after a man was killed in his tent during an intense Aug. 25 storm toppled a huge tree in the Stagger Inn Campground northwest of Priest Lake.

The crews moved quickly, often leaving the wood for campers to use. This tree, for example, was conveniently dropped on the border of a campsite in Gypsy Meadows on the Colville National Forest northeast of Sullivan Lake.