Is it OK to bring firewood in from another county or state?
In Maggie Valley, this question comes up most with the vacation cabins — guests love to bring their own firewood, but at 3,000 feet in high Smokies country the rule is buy it where you burn it. Haul wood in from home and you can carry the emerald ash borer into these forests; certified kiln-dried wood is the only kind safe to travel.
Rentals, guests, and traveling wood
Maggie Valley is thick with vacation rentals and cabins whose fireplaces sit idle for weeks, then have to light instantly when guests arrive — and guests often show up with a load of wood from wherever they came from. That's precisely the move the whole rule exists to stop: wood carried from another county or state can be hiding larvae and spores that hatch into a fresh infestation up here. The forest and park campgrounds nearby post the same warning at every gate.
Propane heat, wood backup, local supply
This is propane-only country, and at 3,000-plus feet — one of the coldest spots we serve — a wood stove is real backup heat when the power's out. There's good seasoned Haywood hardwood close by, so stock the cabin from a local seller rather than importing.
If wood has to travel to the rental, make it certified kiln-dried and heat-treated; that's the only firewood cleared to move, because the drying kills the pests. And get idle cabin fireplaces inspected before peak rental season so they light clean on the first cold night — call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Maggie Valley
We install and service fireplaces throughout Maggie Valley and the rest of Haywood County — just 40 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.