All snaps! Airway Heights amazing firewood program

To make or receive donations from the firewood program, contact mvjackson@doc1.wa.gov and rabaker@DOC1.WA.GOV.

Article text and photos by Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Network Manager

I have known about Airway Heights Corrections Center (AHCC)’s firewood program for years, but had no idea of the scale. I have never seen so much firewood.

On public lands such as parks and state forests, AHCC’s community crews remove trees which fell during storms, and cut trees which are crowding others or posing a hazard. Logs come back to the minimum security yard for splitting, stacking and curing. The prison partners with SNAP (Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners) to provide people of low income with no-cost firewood, to heat their homes. The winter of 2015-16, AHCC’s firewood program donated more than 660 cords of wood to Spokane County residents! 

half-the-firewood
This photo shows about *half* the firewood currently stacked at the Corrections Center.
chipper-meeting
A spontaneous meeting forms around the chipper: DOC staff, visiting compost experts, and a technician discuss the finer points of chipping waste wood. (The chips get turned into compost for the gardens, of course.)
firewood-2
Dang, those are good looking stacks!
firewood-splitter
A technician paused in his work with the splitter so I could take his photograph.
firewood-maul
The crew manually splits and stacks firewood, building their communities’ resources.

9 Comments:

  1. Kym Hyde

    I am 59 years old, I live in Spokane Valley and would really like to get firewood for the winter. However, I live on 3rd floor of an apartment complex. Is it possible at all for me to get firewood and how much would this cost? Thank You, Kym Hyde

    Reply to this comment ↓
  2. Kate Clementich

    Hello,
    Hey was looking to try and obtain some firewood to heat my house. I have a family of 6, and our electric bill is atrocious. We don’t have much money to spare, so we are looking for anything to help

    Reply to this comment ↓

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