* A common question asked is "WHAT'S THE BEST FIREWOOD"?
Oak and Madrone are a top notch hardwood and most commonly sold by local firewood companies, here in Santa Cruz County. No matter what your choice of firewood is, the most important thing is that it be dried properly (seasoned). One to two years is enough time to drive out most of the moisture.

* The best way to get seasoned wood is to BUY THIS YEARS WOOD FOR NEXT YEAR! Wood sellers will often tell you that even though this wood was split this year, it will be just fine. Except in the cases of fir or pine, that is not true. Look for gray, or darkened, brittle wood that has a lot of cracks in the inner rings. Seasoned wood looks gray, or dark and dingy because it has been sitting in the sun, drying for a while. Unseasoned wood has the fresh clean look of new lumber at a building supply store and has that same fresh look on the onside when it's split.

* A FIREWOOD MOISTURE METER is a good investment for anyone who is not sure of the moister content in their firewood. This device works by inserting it's sharp metal prongs into the end of cut pieces. A reading of 15% or less moister is best. However 15% -18% is acceptable. (Moisture meters are available for purchase on-line.)

Signs that your firewood is not dry enough:
o The wood is hard to ignite.
o The wood hisses and sizzles while burning.
o The fire produces more smoke than heat.

* There are two types of Firewood: HARDWOOD and SOFTWOOD. Hardwoods tend to give more heat and less smoke, while Softwoods like Douglas-fir, Cypress, Juniper and Spruce make excellent kindling. It is NOT recommended that you burn large amounts of Softwoods because they create more smoke and creosote which could lead to a devastating chimney fire.

* A cord of firewood measures 4 feet deep X 4 feet high X 8 feet long, or any configuration that equals 128 CUBIC FEET.

* Larger firewood companies have a tendency to be a little more expensive, but usually offer trouble free firewood.