No Northerner will dispute that the coziest way to heat a home is by wood stove. The warm glow, crackling pops and smoky smell can almost be enough to get you looking forward to winter. The wood stove’s popularity is why, at this time of year, Alidas Jamnicky’s phone rings and rings. He owns Yukon Hillbilly Services, offering wood delivery in Haines Junction and Whitehorse. The wood he’ll drop off at your house is ready to burn, but if you want to harvest your own, there’s a science to preparing it. Here are his tips.
• Cut
Use a chainsaw to take down trees on your property and trim the branches and limbs. Next, cut up the wood—Jamnicky says 40 centimetres in length works for most stoves. Then, split it with an axe or electric splitter. “The faster you get it down to a smaller size,” he says, “the faster you’ll be able to burn it.”
• Stack
Freshly felled trees are green, meaning they have sap inside. If you put green wood in your stove, creosote will build up in your chimney, which can lead to a chimney fire. It’s necessary to dry out the wood before burning it. (Seasoned wood burns better, too.) Put two-by-fours or a pallet on the ground, then stack your cut wood on top. With each layer, change the direction of the logs. The whole point is to maximize air flow, so the wood dries out as quickly as possible.
• Wait
Green wood needs at least six months to dry out or season—longer if you don’t cut and split it properly. But it’s worth the wait for a cozy fire in your stove come fall.
