Palomar Mountain News

This neighbor is ready for winter and he even has a couple more rows of wood headed for that stack! Here are some tips:

The wood he had drying in the sun the past year or so has filled his wood shed, ready for a promised pretty wet winter this year. This oak will season all year in the sun, rain, or snow. No tarp needed – leaving it totally exposed helps keep the rodents out, too. Just stack your wood on pallets to be able to preserve that first row of logs for future use.

What does CalFire have to say? Firewood stacks are to be at least 50 feet from your home or cabin. If you have wood stacked under a patio roof for easy access in the winter, for example, it should be covered with not just any old tarp, a fire PROOF tarp.

Henry Ford is credited with saying “Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice.” I have a different version: Firewood warms you at least four times; When you chop it, split it, stack it and then enjoy sitting in front of a warm fire on a blustery day in winter.

This Extreme Heat the next few days will pass and before we know it, we’ll be thankful for our firewood. Meanwhile, stay cool!