Tree farmers must work just as fast as the wildfires racing across Southeast Georgia if they are to have any hope of salvaging timber burned by the massive infernos.
"The hotter the fire, the shorter the time you've got to get it to the mill," said Joe Hopkins, a fourth generation tree farmer. "You're looking at maybe four to six weeks maximum to move it to the mill. After that, it's pretty much too late."
Some of his family's prime timber was burned when an Easter wildfire rekindled to destroy 600 acres in Wayne County before being contained April 21.
If the fire is hot enough, it will kill the tree. Dead trees rot quickly. Charred but surviving trees are vulnerable to insect infestation and fungus, which ruins the wood and speeds decay, Hopkins said.
There is no market for the skinny young trees, and the other burned trees have a discounted value at market, he said.
In Ware County, where the largest wildfires continue to rage, that means individual tree farmers and timber companies face a tough road to recovery.
At least $65 million of timber has been destroyed by Ware County wildfires sparked April 16 when wind blew down a power line, Georgia Forestry Commission rangers estimated this week.
As little as 15 percent of that timber might be salvaged, forestry rangers and timber industry experts told the Times-Union.
"The tragic part is that it's so large a wildfire that it will be impossible to salvage a great portion of the burned timber," said Tim Lowrimore, director of forest policy for the Georgia Forestry Association.
The association is aiding state officials assessing the timber damage. Lowrimore and two other forestry officials accompanied forestry rangers on a preliminary aerial survey Monday of the wildfire's path of destruction.
The most accurate assessment, Lowrimore said, will come from ground crews as soon as they can go safely into the burned areas.
But the group saw enough Monday to know it's going to be bad, he said.
"An individual tree farmer is going to be in some serious [financial] pain from this,'' Lowrimore said.
Tree farming, logging and forest product mills are an important contributor to the economy of Southeast Georgia, especially Ware County.
Natural forest and commercial timberland span about 516,600 acres in Ware County. That is 89 percent of the county's total 577,770-acre land area, forestry commission data shows.
The Sweat Farm Road fire and Big Turnaround fire are adjoining wildfires separated by Swamp Road in the heavily wooded southeastern portion of the county.
Those two blazes had burned at least 62,000 acres, rangers estimated.
The wildfires have burned areas containing mainly natural forest and pine plantations with both old and new timber stands of mostly loblolly and slash pine trees. Added to the tinder-dry mix is gallberry, palmettos and other thick underbrush, landowners and rangers said.
At least 26,000 acres of timberland owned by Rayonier Inc. has burned in Ware County, where the company has a total of 84,000 acres, a company spokesman told the Times-Union.
That timber loss may cost Rayonier up to $7 million in earnings during the second quarter. The Jacksonville-based products company doesn't carry fire insurance on its timberland, its annual report states.
Individual tree farmers face a greater loss.
"People get hit twice. First by the wildfire and then again by having to burn wood that you can't get to market quick enough," Hopkins said.
Tough market
Harvesting the burned trees is only half the battle. A pulp mill or sawmill has to be willing to buy them, and not many will.
It depends on the product they make and supply of wood on the market, Lowrimore said.
Much of the timber that has burned in Ware County is pine and other soft woods that normally would be used for pulp and paper products, he said.
"Burned wood can be used for brown paper bags. But charred wood, which has a lot of carbon in it, can't be bleached white enough to use for toilet paper or diapers in today's market," Lowrimore said.
Although some burned timber is suitable for a sawmill producing 2-by-4's and other lumber, that market "is very saturated" right now, Lowrimore said.
If a tree farmer can get his burned timber harvested and to a mill that will accept it, he faces another obstacle.
Salvaged timber is bought at fire sale prices, said Tommy Tye, a research professional at the Center for Forest Business at the University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
The price is based mainly on the weight of the trees harvested. Dead trees dry out faster so they weigh less.
That results in a lower price paid to the tree farmer, Tye said.
"It might be only $1 or $2 per ton, which is far less than what they'd normally get for their [non-burned] timber," Tye said.
Earlier this year, Georgia tree farmers generally got an average price of about $39 per ton for solid pine saw timber. Pine chip timber averaged about $20 per ton, while they were getting an average price of about $6.50 per ton for pine pulp wood, Tye said.
But a salvage sale can at least help offset the cost of clearing the burned site and replanting, he said.
New start
Hypothetically, if the burned areas are harvested immediately, they could be replanted in the fall, Lowrimore said.
"But in practicality, it's going to be very difficult to get all that burned wood out of there quickly," he said.
Hopkins estimated that it might take one to three years to replant most of the area burned by the Ware fires.
But there is reason for optimism, he and Lowrimore said.
"The good thing is, forestry and forests are resilient and will recover. But it will take time to heal," Lowrimore said.The Times-Union
