Getting the best sources for your firewood has to be a top priority on your prepping to-do list, no? Every prepper has to be concerned with his firewood stockpile, come Hell or high water — and for obvious reasons. Remaining exposed to the elements can be a very quick way to die.
Fire is one of man’s most primordial tools, despite its fickleness & hatred for being mastered. Fire wants to be Lucifer, to have you bowing at its feet, and it is dangerous enough to ruin you. It is yet what you can’t do without in the wild: Jesus, Manna, the bread of life.
Fire provides warmth & light and is your only option for cooking in the unavailability of an electric range or microwave. It can be used to sterilize your gear too. These overlapping orange tongues are the best tool you’ll ever have in the wild.
Firewood is very critical to building a fire, so one of the most important reasons you want to keep your firewood stack piled is to ensure that you can build a fire comfortably at any time and use your fire for every purpose you may intend for it.
Highlighting 5 Best Sources for Your Firewood
Firewood is rarely missing. It is common everywhere, especially in areas where there’s a lot of trees growing. This is why no one really places any value on it. We know it is critical to making a fire, but who pays special attention to that?
Few people do.
Howbeit your stack of firewood is before shit hits the fan, it will eventually be exhausted. The best thing you can do is gather as much as you can before disaster hits and know the ways to collect when things go wrong. There are, after all, so many uses for your firewood logs.
Having considered easiness, affordability & availability (including when SHTF), below are the top 5 ways to stock up your firewood supply.
Clear the Road
One of the most obvious ways to gather free firewood is to clear roads that many follow. But the main occasion for doing this would be a major wind disaster that uproots trees & blocks the roads with them. Otherwise, you may have legal problems cutting woods on the road.
Few citizens would assume this responsibility when SHTF, and so, you deciding to, leaves you in pole position when it comes to wood harvest. This can be easily done using a truck or any haulage vehicle, along with good chopping tools. And the beauty is that by giving to society, you’re directly rewarded—talk of a trade by barter between man & his environment.
Assume the role of a Good Neighbor
Hard to see what this means at first glance, isn’t it? Well, here’s what I mean.
A great way to collect firewood is to inform your neighborhood of being the man to ring whenever there’s a need to prune large tree branches or cut down whole trees — putting in mind your ability to do so, of course.
To achieve your goal more easily, you should not wait for your neighbors to call you after a storm or any event that piles trees in their backyard. The right thing to do is to approach them with your machinery & get the job done at a lesser price. I’d have suggested that you do it for free, but this would give away the fact that you’re collecting the woods for a particular use, and some people may not like that.
Note that if you wish to make this free, it’s fine as long as you’ll be allowed to continue harvesting. If you have a large enough firewood stash, selling some when SHTF won’t be a problem at all, and this is when you make your profits.
Friends & Family Connects
Send memos (or something informal) to your friends & family requesting them to refer you to jobs that involve cutting woods. Some of them have their personal properties & may even own a large forest where you can work on. Sometimes, you don’t even have to work for it — all you need do is collect the fallen branches.
They will be more than appreciative of your help, considering that your help is a form of maintenance for them.
Mind you; you don’t have to wait for any event before ringing them up. You should call them now to ask if they need any trees to take down. If you get a yes, believe it when I say spending 2-3 days felling & hauling trees can provide you with more firewood than you would believe — except if it’s what you’ve done before.
Uncle Sam
If you live close to any park, whether local, state, or national, you can become friends with the rangers or caretakers in charge. They are typically required (alongside other duties) to keep the trails free of brush & limbs, and they have to handle the aftermath of clearing brush too.
They may not allow you to pick a tree to harvest for firewood, but they would surely be more than willing to let you haul away felled trees as it saves them a lot of time & sweat.
Quid Pro Quo
Seek out firewood sellers. You can start with online contacts or the little bandit signs you barely take note of on roadsides as you travel.
Following any of these signs will lead you to sellers who are deciding to put away their firewood stash, either to augment income or because they have quite a lot. You need to understand that not everyone is collecting firewood for the same purpose that you are.
This method of sourcing firewood offers you pre-seasoned woods should you be willing to pay. If you are not, you should barter with them. There is always something the other party wants — I hope you have that. Reach an agreement with the seller, ensuring that whatever it is will favor you as well as the person.
Concluding the Best Sources for Your Firewood
For all of the firewood’s uses, most do not recognize its relevance & is therefore easy to gather. The only time people realize the value of firewood is when disaster strikes & they are unable to have access to power. And when they do, it is best that you’re the man they turn to buy from. Let’s hear from you: what addition should be made to the best sources for your firewood mentioned above?