Copyright © 2000 Associated Press
December 14, 2000 
By ELLIOTT MINOR, Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - Danny Gilliard roars off in his red pickup truck to deliver another load of freshly cut oak firewood to a customer.

With the early arrival of chilly weather and predictions of higher prices for heating oil and natural gas, Gilliard and other firewood retailers around the South expect to do a booming business this season.

Gilliard, who has been selling firewood for 10 years, said he's already having trouble keeping up with the demand as Christmas approaches.

``A lot of people like a fire during the holidays,'' he said Wednesday.

And with heating bills expected to be 50 percent higher than last winter, Gilliard said he expects the demand to escalate as more people shift to burning wood.

Energy officials say natural gas and heating oil prices will remain high through the winter because of low supplies and colder temperatures.

Tommy Loggins, assistant to the director of the Georgia Forestry Commission, said the South is blessed with an abundance of trees on privately owned land. Unlike forests in the Northwest, where a higher percentage of the land is controlled by the federal government, wood is more readily available in the South to meet changing market needs, he said.

Warren Boyette, head of technology development and planning with the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources, said a drastic increase in the price of conventional fuels usually means a boost in sales of wood stoves and firewood.

``We had a big swing in the '80s,'' he said. But ``people found out it was a lot of work and dirty, then it sort of phased out.''

Loggins said he is already getting reports of higher firewood demand this year.

``It provides a good low-cost way to heat a home that's a good alternative to the more conventional sources,'' he said.

Alternate energy sources, including wood, became popular following the energy crisis of the 1970s. Georgia's Forestry Commission put wood stoves in many of its county offices. Many industries, such as pulp mills and large sawmills, still use wood to generate steam and electricity.

``People used a tremendous amount of wood from the early to mid '80s, then shifted away as other fuels became lower priced and the shock of the oil crisis faded from people's memories,'' Loggins said.

David Evans of S&W Timber Co. in Auburn, about halfway between Athens and Atlanta, said his company has been selling more firewood this year.

``The last couple of years were slow due to warm weather,'' he said. ``Now a lot of people are buying wood to supplement their heat. One fellow said his natural gas tank was empty and he was going to burn wood. His gas supplier had almost doubled the price of his gas.'' Error: Unable to read footer file.