Photos by Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Michele Cefola gathers wood Saturday at Roanoke's giveaway in Fallon Park. A city official said response to such events has increased.

Joe Goodhammer (left) and Sam McCormick split wood Saturday at a Roanoke firewood giveaway in Fallon Park. A cord of seasoned hardwood can sell this year for $300 when delivered and stacked. One factor in price is the cost of gas.

Michele Cefola lights a fire Saturday after gathering wood at Roanoke's giveaway.

The old saw holds that firewood "warms you twice" -- once when you cut it and another when it's burned -- a formula that fails to include the labor of splitting, stacking, toting wood and hauling ash.

But this year, as winter approaches, the price of firewood is also making some folks hot under the collar.

Harvey Gross, 81, heats his home in Roanoke primarily with wood. On Saturday, he and others drove pickups and lugged saws to Fallon Park for a firewood giveaway offered by the city. On that chilly morning, Gross paused when one of his two chain saws sputtered and quit.

"I saw one cord advertised for $250," Gross said. "That's outrageous."

Well, no. In fact, a cord of high-quality seasoned hardwood can sell this year for $300 or more when delivered and stacked.

By all accounts, loggers, other woodcutters and firewood vendors are passing along to customers the effects of higher prices for gasoline, oil and just about everything else.

Steve Burns, owner of Burns and Co. of Bent Mountain, said there's been a big jump even in the price of bar oil, which lubricates a saw's cutting chain and bar.

"Last spring, bar oil was selling for about $4.99 a gallon," Burns said. "In October, it was selling for about $9.99 a gallon."

John King, president of Specialized Saw & Mower of Salem, said his firewood prices are up about 30 percent over last year. He would not disclose pricing for publication for competitive reasons, he said.

King said sales of chain saws are up about 10 percent. Specialized is doing more chain saw repair work, too.

"I've had a lot of people comment to me that they are going back to wood heat," he said.

With homeowners wary of relying solely for heat on natural gas, fuel oil, propane or electricity, wood heat becomes for some an attractive alternative, especially as a supplemental heating source.

Dan Henry, Roanoke's urban forester, said response to firewood giveaways has risen in recent years.

"We're definitely getting more people out," he said. "Now, they just line up."

A cord typically represents a stack of firewood that is 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet long, or about 128 cubic feet.

Estimates suggest, however, that the most common length for firewood is about 16 inches. That length, considered a "face cord," is equal to one-third of a full cord, according to Virginia Cooperative Extension.

One full-size, 8-foot bed pickup load of wood equals about half a cord or less.

For one full-size pickup load delivered from Bent Mountain, Burns and Co. charges $135, which Burns said is about $10 more than he charged last year.

Paul Bunyan's Tree Service of Roanoke charges $120 for a pickup load delivered.

Urban Forestry near Vinton has discounted its pricing, both to reflect the struggling economy and to reduce its stockpile, said Ray Etter of the company. He said demand for the company's tree-trimming services has plunged and that Urban Forestry is depending more on firewood sales to make ends meet.

A half-cord, delivered, has dropped from $120 to $100, he said. Prices are lower when customers pick up the wood, he said, but pricing fluctuates and could increase as demand rises.

All the aforementioned vendors report they sell seasoned hardwoods.

In the Roanoke Valley, some firewood vendors charge more and some less. Burns said that some sellers provide higher quality wood than others.

Meanwhile, Dixie Products of Roanoke has seen a "drastic increase" this year in interest in wood stoves, according to general manager Mark Silverstein. Larger units, designed to heat an entire home or a large space, must be certified by the Environmental Protection Agency for low emissions, he said.

Silverstein and others say homeowners should weigh whether heating with wood really saves money, especially if they are buying firewood.

"It makes sense if you have your own source of wood available," he said.

Still, many people assume the costs of other heating fuels will continue to rise. Some believe wood heat offers a good backup in a time of disaster -- whether natural or economic.

Appalachian Power Co. hopes to receive approval of a rate increase of about 17 percent and was recently granted two smaller and separate rate increases.

The prices of natural gas and fuel oil have dropped since the summer, but remain higher than last year.

The federal Energy Information Administration predicts for this winter an average increase nationally of about 15 percent for fuels that include heating oil, natural gas, propane and electricity.

At the city's Saturday firewood giveaway, Ricky Akers said wood heat trumps his home's electric heat.

"Electric bills got so high, there's no other choice but to go with wood," he said.