How to get firewood - 1) Finding the right wood
Living this far north in the winter (64.4 degrees longitude) you need a lot of wood to keep warm. We also do all our cooking on our woodstove (and wood-fired range). So we spend a lot of time finding, cutting, hauling, storing and splitting wood.
Species of trees
The only types of trees this far north that are worth using for firewood are spruce and birch (if you can find it when it's not rotten or frozen solid). Other trees like cottonwood are not worth using as they don't burn as well.
Dead standing
We mostly use spruce as firewood. Now you ideally need one that's 'dead standing'. That is a tree that has been dead for some time but is still upright. If you can find a burn, an area where the trees have been killed by a forest fire (firekill) some years ago, that's perfect for firewood as the trees are completely dry and seasoned. This wood burns easily and quickly. It's what we prefer to burn in colder temperatures. Because it's seasoned, it's also light and easier to manouevre.
Green trees
You can cut down living 'green trees' but these are incredibly heavy (as they are full of sap and water) and you'll need to stack the wood for a year or even two before it dries enough to be useful as firewood. Also, there's usually no need to cut down living trees as there are plenty of dead ones around for firewood.
You can burn green wood but it smokes a lot, doesn't give off as much heat and will create far more creosote in your chimney.
You often see trees that look as if they are dead but if you look right at their top you can sometimes still see a hint of green. Don't bother, this one's still alive and green. But try it again next year.
Fallen trees, rotten wood, drift wood
You can use fallen trees, but they can be rotten. Any part of a tree that touches the ground will rot first and even if it's off the ground it can also get waterlogged from rain and melting snow. Damp wood will burn, but doesn't give much heat and smokes badly. You can stack rotten wood and dry it. We use some dry partially-rotten wood when the weather's not quite so cold. It burns through quickly so can be good cooking wood.
You can usually tell if wood is rotten if you knock on it with the blunt end of an axe and you get a thick, dull sound rather than a crisp knock. You can also run your chainsaw into it a little and check the sawdust that comes out and the exposed wood. If the sawdust is fine and / or amber coloured or the exposed wood below the bark looks amber, then you've got rotten wood. If it's a pale yellow and large chips, you've got good wood.
Along the banks of the Yukon you can often see piles of driftwood washed up from spring break up. This wood can be good, well-seasoned firewood, if it's not damp, but if it's on the banks of the Yukon chances are it's got silt in it from the river. Not a problem for burning but the silt can blunt or even break a chain on a chainsaw so we usually avoid driftwood.
If it's definitely completely dead from fire or beetles or some other reason and standing upright, this is the wood you want.
Twisted, knotty or straight?
We take all the decent wood we can find as we need a huge amount and can't afford to be too picky.
If a tree has been twisted by the wind over the years, e.g. in a windy spot on a river bank, it can be difficult to split. If it has (or had) lots of side branches there are likely lots of knots in the wood which also makes it more difficult to split.
When we have twisted or very knotty wood we often don't try and split it until the temperature has dropped below -20/25C, the colder the better. Then the logs are much easier to split as they become far more brittle.
Now you've found your tree, it's time to check your equipment and cut it down. See the next 'how to' for details of the equipment you need.
Species of trees
The only types of trees this far north that are worth using for firewood are spruce and birch (if you can find it when it's not rotten or frozen solid). Other trees like cottonwood are not worth using as they don't burn as well.
 |
| Live spruce in the middle (background), dead standing (and leaning, foreground) |
We mostly use spruce as firewood. Now you ideally need one that's 'dead standing'. That is a tree that has been dead for some time but is still upright. If you can find a burn, an area where the trees have been killed by a forest fire (firekill) some years ago, that's perfect for firewood as the trees are completely dry and seasoned. This wood burns easily and quickly. It's what we prefer to burn in colder temperatures. Because it's seasoned, it's also light and easier to manouevre.
 |
| Cutting down a dead standing firekill tree |
You can cut down living 'green trees' but these are incredibly heavy (as they are full of sap and water) and you'll need to stack the wood for a year or even two before it dries enough to be useful as firewood. Also, there's usually no need to cut down living trees as there are plenty of dead ones around for firewood.
You can burn green wood but it smokes a lot, doesn't give off as much heat and will create far more creosote in your chimney.
You often see trees that look as if they are dead but if you look right at their top you can sometimes still see a hint of green. Don't bother, this one's still alive and green. But try it again next year.
Fallen trees, rotten wood, drift wood
You can use fallen trees, but they can be rotten. Any part of a tree that touches the ground will rot first and even if it's off the ground it can also get waterlogged from rain and melting snow. Damp wood will burn, but doesn't give much heat and smokes badly. You can stack rotten wood and dry it. We use some dry partially-rotten wood when the weather's not quite so cold. It burns through quickly so can be good cooking wood.
You can usually tell if wood is rotten if you knock on it with the blunt end of an axe and you get a thick, dull sound rather than a crisp knock. You can also run your chainsaw into it a little and check the sawdust that comes out and the exposed wood. If the sawdust is fine and / or amber coloured or the exposed wood below the bark looks amber, then you've got rotten wood. If it's a pale yellow and large chips, you've got good wood.
 |
| A log rotten in the middle |
If it's definitely completely dead from fire or beetles or some other reason and standing upright, this is the wood you want.
Twisted, knotty or straight?
We take all the decent wood we can find as we need a huge amount and can't afford to be too picky.
If a tree has been twisted by the wind over the years, e.g. in a windy spot on a river bank, it can be difficult to split. If it has (or had) lots of side branches there are likely lots of knots in the wood which also makes it more difficult to split.
When we have twisted or very knotty wood we often don't try and split it until the temperature has dropped below -20/25C, the colder the better. Then the logs are much easier to split as they become far more brittle.
Now you've found your tree, it's time to check your equipment and cut it down. See the next 'how to' for details of the equipment you need.
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