Community Firewood Program

About the Project

The Community Firewood Program (CFP) offers seasoned, dry firewood to Oakridge and surrounding communities residents (Westfir, High Prairie) to reduce the woodsmoke impacts locally that are caused from burning green and unseasoned wood.

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Why it is Important?

Woodsmoke in the winter contributes to poor air quality and impacts our community’s health and economic development. Local climate and topography make the city of Oakridge prone to wintertime temperature inversions, low wind speeds and poor atmospheric dispersion for this reason, Oakridge has been out of attainment with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards until recently this past year. A key issue is that people do not have the opportunity to practice clean burning by burning dry, seasoned wood. Residents who burn firewood must gather firewood from the surrounding federal forest themselves or purchase firewood that is often expensive or improperly seasoned. When wet firewood is burned the fine particulate emissions cannot be properly abated, regardless of using a certified wood stove.

Community Health: Residential wood smoke contains PM2.5, carbon monoxide (CO), toxic air pollutants (e.g., benzene and formaldehyde) and other gases (e.g. methane and black carbon) which contribute to cancer risk and other significant community health issues, such as asthma and heart problems.

Economic Development: Because the City of Oakridge has been in nonattainment and in violation of federal air quality standards it affects the potential for new businesses to move or start operations in Oakridge. Nonattainment status also bears the risk of losing federal funding dollars which limits industrial economic development options within the community and Lane County.  

Project Mission

The primary goal of the Community Firewood Program is to help mitigate air pollution from improper firewood burning in order to help the City of Oakridge meet its air attainment goals. Additional objectives of the program include:

• Provide affordable, seasoned firewood,

• Educate community about clean burning practices,

• Share information about alternative home heating options and programs

• Support the reinstatement of a forest service commercial firewood sale program

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Biomass Feasibility Study

A biomass proposal was written by OSU student James Boulger, with support from the Collaborative and partners. This project describes a phased biomass facility for small diameter timber use and mutli-product wood manufacturing that could be considered for the Oakridge Industrial Park with resources from surrounding forestland. The SWFC continues to look for biomass opportunities for the Oakridge area.