Firewood Demand Skyrockets As Oklahoma Temperatures Plummet

As temperatures drop, the need for heat is skyrocketing. There’s been an enormous demand for firewood, and businesses that sell it, like Rickert Landscaping, are having a hard time keeping up.

The machines at Rickert Landscaping and Tree Service are running full steam ahead, sawing and splitting logs to create new bundles of firewood.

Todd Rickert said he runs one of the largest firewood operations in Oklahoma, and even he's nearly burnt out.

“Normally on a typical day we may get 10 or 20 phone calls, I think we’re in the hundreds per day right now. To the point where we can’t answer them all we just have to have a recording," he said.

People are concerned about power shutoffs or gas shortages, so they're turning off furnaces and towards fireplaces to heat their homes.

Rickert says he should have enough supply to produce more firewood throughout the week, but it's hard to keep up even with his equipment. He said some people may end up on a waiting list.