"Honest to god, maybe it's because of the president or the economy or the oil and the news, but by late spring, I had all the orders I could handle," said John Brown, a longtime logger and owner of John D. Brown Logging.
He and some other local tree harvesters have noticed an increased interest among people wanting to buy firewood for warmth.
According to the federal Energy Information Administration, 8 million of the nation's 107 million households use heating oil as a primary heating fuel. About 78 percent of these households are located in the Northeast.
"There has been an increase in demand for firewood," said Lenny Roberts of Ashfield-Roberts Brothers Lumber & Logging in Ashfield.
He added that prices of wood are going up accordingly with the price of oil, "because it's costing us more to get it out of the woods."
Roberts Brothers' prices increased by $10 from $175 last year to $185 per cord.
Brown pre-sold a mix of season hardwoods this spring at $180 per cord, but on average, local distributors gave prices between $200 and $225 per cord, plus a range of delivery charges.
In report on heating with wood listed within The National Agricultural Database, a cord of average dry hardwood is equivalent to the following: 150 gallons of heating oil, 230 gallons of gas; 21,000 cubic feet
of natural gas; and 6,158 kilowatt hours of electricity.
According to a home heating report released last week by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute, between 2003 and 2008, the regional retail price of home heating oil increased 175 percent, from $1.43 per gallon to an average annual price of $4 per gallon.
An inquiry yesterday of prepaid lock-in rates from three local home heating oil distributors ranged from $4.20 to $4.30.
"A lot of people are burning wood who haven't burned wood before, and people are burning wood because it's half the price (of oil) pretty much," said Brown.
Because of this, local loggers and state authorities say that consumers should become knowledgeable about wood and wood heating before purchasing stoves, burners and supplies.
Firewood for the home varies in price based on wood type, season and purchasing plan. Typically, home heating wood is pre-cut, split and sold per cord. By state statute, a cord must measure 128 cubic feet and measure 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet long when closely stacked.
To ensure legal weight and quality, the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation warns consumers that phrases like "face load," "truckload" and "pile" are prohibited from being used in advertising for the sale of firewood by state law.
Dan Lequin, owner of Dannywood Tree Service based in Savoy, said that though he hasn't seen a rush for wood, he would advise people to know what they're getting into before making the change.
"Know that it's a lot of work. It's not a clean product like putting oil into your tank," he said.
He said wood piles should be properly stacked and stored, and that wood handling often results in the occasional bark chips and ash in and around the hearth.
The biggest damage in switching from oil to wood is the actual infrastructure. A modern wood stove can hit the wallet anywhere between $1,500 to $8,000, plus $1,000 or more for installing a new hearth pad, chimney, and other considerations such as accessories and design.
But there's a plus, said Roberts of the Ashfield lumber company: "I think it's great that people are using more wood now to help reduce the carbon footprint that the fossil fuels have definitely put on this earth."
Joe Galok of Berkshire Fire Place Pool & Spa Inc. in Pittsfield said he's also seen an increase in interest in wood stoves and actual purchases.
"Right now (in the county), we're blessed with an overabundance of the best firewood on the planet and the performance of wood stoves has never been better," he said. "A system lasts 30 to 40 years at least. It pays off."
Whatever the payoff may be, one thing's for certain: The cost of heating fuel in general is an increasing burden and people need help.
"When I was kid," said Galok, "my father and I would go up to October Mountain. He was sold a pass and the state forest opened the land. We got two cords with our station wagon," he said. "I don't know what we're waiting for."
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