‘Wood angels’ prepare for winter

SANDPOINT — The community’s “wood angels” are back to help community residents stay warm this winter.

Firewood Rescue, a local 501(c)3 dedicated to providing firewood for those in need, is working overtime for a winter that seems to have arrived a month early, founder Paul Krames said.

Firewood Rescue has proven essential for families in the Panhandle who are struggling to heat their homes but fall below the income cutoff for energy assistance from other organizations, such as Community Action Partnership. That application can be found at cap4action.org/energy/ea.

When CAP receives an applicant for its energy assistance program who falls just above the income threshold, they are usually referred to Firewood Rescue, or as one family who was helped called them, the “wood angels.”

Unfortunately, rising fuel costs and demand for firewood is making things tough for the non-profit, Krames said. However, area residents have stepped into help Firewood Rescue help others.

Among them is Boundary Tractor. Krames relayed a story from last Saturday when one of their coordinators was out shopping at Boundary Tractor when the business owner donated 12 gallons of chain and bar oil to the group.

“I know what you do,” the owner told Eileen Esplin, the “point-person” for the operation.

That community support also can be seen in making sure that Firewood Rescue knows about those who are in need.

“The community is our eyes and ears,” Krames said. “If you know a family that is struggling, please refer them to us.” Those eyes and ears have been looking out for the organization, as well.

This past weekend, Krames and his hardy band of volunteers visited Rich and Susie Feickert, who had a “significant amount of firewood” to donate, Krames said.

“I don’t know how many cords … a lot,” Krames said, recounting the five-hour shift – and there is still more to gather.

The work was made much easier with a storage trailer and a hydraulic wood splitter that Firewood Rescue was able to buy, thanks to a Community Assistance League grant.

The Feickerts, who live in Boundary County, have made it possible for Firewood Rescue to expand their services to more of Boundary County. They have even offered to help with the deliveries.

This heating season, the group hopes to double its deliveries, up from an average of 60 deliveries a year since the group started in 2017. For the last four seasons, since they started in 2017, they have averaged around 60 deliveries each year.

“We help almost everyone who appeals to us,” Krames said. However, he said the high gas prices are taking a toll.

With the worst of the season still ahead, the team is hoping for more donations of wood and funds, as well as more volunteers. All funds go almost exclusively to fuel and equipment maintenance and acquisition.

However, FR can’t accept all the wood offered. The wood needs to be seasoned and ready to burn this winter. Much of the offers they receive after windstorms, while appreciated, have to be refused because the wood is still green.

FR, which began by serving local veterans and assisting the VFW’s firewood program, grew to helping the elderly, disabled, and widowed. With the pandemic, and the livelihoods that went with it, FR had to expand operations to serve more low-income residents. And now, with inflation, individuals on fixed incomes have felt the squeeze even more.

While they wish they could, FR does not keep families stocked up for the whole winter. They are a reserve for “emergency delivery” — and those emergencies have not slowed down yet.

“Now, we’re getting a lot more disabled and chronically ill. A lot of cancer patients need our help,” Krames said.

Krames mentioned a few of their biggest supporters like Hickey Farms “who gives us a lot of wood” and Sandpoint Rotary who has donated significantly to the group in the past.

Most of the time, though, it is everyday people who keep the wood angels running. “We rely on a lot of small dollar donations,” Krames said.

The nonprofit can be reached by emailing FirewoodRescue2020@gmail.com. Krames asked potential donors to contact the group on where to send donations for security reasons.