Ponderosa Pine Firewood

If you live out West and you've ever needed cheap, easy-to-get firewood in a hurry, you've probably already burned some ponderosa pine. Also called yellow pine, it's everywhere, national forests, beetle-kill salvage piles, your neighbor's yard. It's not fancy, but it's there.

At 14.8 million BTU per cord, ponderosa sits near the bottom of the pack. It's about half the heat output of a good hardwood like red oak. You're going to burn through it fast, and you'll be reloading the stove way more often than you'd like. Not ideal as your only heat source, but it works great for cheap firewood when you need volume on a budget.

Splitting ponderosa is about as easy as it gets, a 2,380 lb. dry cord means lighter rounds that practically fall apart on the maul. The flip side is sparks. Lots of them. Pine pops and throws sparks like crazy, so keep a screen on that fireplace and don't walk away from an open fire. Smells nice, though. That piney scent is hard to beat.

Six to twelve months of seasoning is all you need, which is one of ponderosa's best qualities. Stack it in the spring, burn it by fall. Just get it off the ground and let the air move through, it dries fast because the wood is so light to begin with.

Bottom line, ponderosa pine is a solid kindling wood and a decent shoulder-season burner. If you're mixing it with hardwoods or just need something to take the chill off in September, it does the job. Compare it to Lodgepole Pine firewood if you're deciding between the two, lodgepole edges it out slightly on BTUs.