CASCADE, Idaho — "The night is dark and full of terrors;" Game of Thrones knew winter and the importance of fire. If you've lived in Idaho, even one year, you know it gets cold. If you have a fireplace or wood burning stove, firewood is a necessity... and it can be expensive. The Cascade Ranger District is offering free personal use fuelwood and giving free personal use fuelwood permits starting Oct. 11.
"We know that this summer has been incredibly hard for our community due to the amount of fire and smoke on the landscape," said Chris Bentley, Cascade District Ranger. "Many popular fuelwood gathering locations have been closed due to wildfires, and so we're trying to do what we can within our power to make things a little bit easier for our community members."
People can get the permits at the Cascade Ranger District office, located in Cascade. According to the service, the offer runs until Nov. 30, or as long as weather conditions allow. When people get permits, they also receive a fuelwood pamphlet with the rules and regulations of how to collect and cut firewood.
The permits allow people to gather and cut up to ten cords of wood. This can be dead snags or downed dead wood materials, og decks, hazard trees, and other woody materials. Because of fire mitigation, wood decks are stacked around the district, the service stated.
"The recovery efforts for this fire season will extend for many years to come," Bentley said. "But if we can help ensure that our community members have the wood the heat their homes this winter that'll be a great place to start and then we'll work together to address the larger needs of our cherished forest lands."
People can get more information here.
