California is participating in the national “Firewood Scout” program this summer in an effort to assist consumers in buying firewood local to where they will be burning it. The website offers information on invasive species of concern in California as well as a set of questions consumers can ask to help assure the wood being purchased is low-risk for insects and diseases. The website is especially useful in its mobile form for on-the-go travelers using their smartphones to identify where local firewood distributors are in a given area. Movement of firewood long distances can help spread harmful invasive species. Firewood Scout will help keep wood local and keep residents and visitors of California “Buying It Where They Burn It.”
If you are a firewood vendor who sells to the public and you are interested in participating in the “Firewood Scout” program, please contact California Firewood Task Force Chair Katie Harrell at kpalmieri@berkeley.edu.
California's trees are at risk from insects and diseases that can move on firewood. In San Diego County alone, tens of thousands of oak trees have been killed due to the Goldspotted Oak Borer, an insect researchers believe was initially brought to California on infested firewood. Other dangerous tree pests, such as the Emerald Ash Borer, have been found on firewood at California's borders.
ALERT: If you work with the public and can help us get our message out, we have supplies to share, free of charge! Contact Janice Alexander at jalexander@ucdavis.edu or (415) 473-3041 for posters, postcards, tattoos and more!
Firewood Movement - A Threat to California's Forests? (PDF)
Best Management Practices
Reducing Ecological Risks Associated with Pests in Firewood: Guidance for Park Managers - National Park Service (PDF)
Recent drought stress has led to a large increase in tree mortality caused by native beetles. Remember these insects can also be moved in firewood.
Why is moving firewood such a bad idea? Tree-killing insects and diseases can lurk in firewood. These insects and diseases can't move far on their own, but when people move firewood they can jump hundreds of miles. New infestations destroy our forests, property values, and cost huge sums of money to control.
Moving Firewood Can Spread Invasive Species - Questions and Answers
In November 2010, the California Forest Pest Council approved a Resolution to create a California Firewood Task Force. States across the country have taken similar steps to limit the movement of firewood in an effort to slow the spread of tree pests, and a new National Firewood Task Force has formed to address risks associated with firewood movement.
Specific pests that may be transported via firewood in California:
Moving firewood can bring invasive pests to the campsites you love.
Sacramento, January 28, 2016 - The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) has ruled to enlarge the Zone of Infestation (ZOI) for the invasive goldspotted oak borer (GSOB), which expanded its reach in southern California in 2015. Updates to the ZOI include impacted areas of Los Angeles and Orange Counties as well as extending the zone in San Diego County to include all regions where host trees (coast live oak, California black oak, and canyon live oak) are present. Previously the ZOI covered regions of San Diego County where the beetle had been found through 2014 as well as the Idyllwild area of Riverside County.