Tree Debris Will Take At Least A Year Before It Will Burn Cleanly Limbs On The Ground Too Wet, Green To Be Good Firewood
What’s the difference between a shattered tree limb and good firewood? One year.
That’s how long it will take for wood debris left over from Tuesday’s ice storm to cure enough to burn cleanly, advises Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority spokeswoman Lisa Woodard.
“Most of what’s down on the ground is wet or green and really shouldn’t be used this winter,” Woodard said Wednesday. “You’re not going to get a lot of heat, and chances are you’ll exceed state limits on the amount of smoke that can come out of your chimney.”
Spokane solid waste director Dennis Hein says much of the wood being hauled to the city’s temporary debris drop-off stations at Highbridge Park, Manito Park and Joe Albi Stadium are small branches, suggesting that homeowners are stockpiling the bigger limbs for fuel.
But even some seasoned wood doesn’t burn well.
According to the book “Heating with Wood” by Michael Harris, the trees that make the best fuel are, in order: black locust, hickory, hophornbeam, white oak, beech, sugar maple, red oak, yellow birch and white ash.
Trees rated as “good” include red maple, tamarack, black cherry, pitch pine, white birch, silver maple, Norway pine, white elm and gray birch.
Among those rated as “poor” are hemlock, red spruce, white walnut, pin cherry, aspen, balsam fir, black willow, white pine and basswood.
Firewood dealer Mike Taitch says anything other than tamarack or Douglas fir has little commercial value, since those two trees have the best reputation among area residents who heat with wood.
Taylor Bressler, city park operations division manager, warns against harvesting wood debris from parks and other city property.
“Much of it’s still hanging onto the trees, and you risk bringing down healthy limbs when you pull off broken branches,” says Bressler.
City crews will remove damaged limbs as quickly as possible, he says.
, DataTimes MEMO: “After the Storm” special section