Looking for firewood

This colder weather is bringing on the need for firewood. Several businesses listed in the yellow pages under firewood, say they don't have any. <br><br>KOTV's Donn Robertson checked out the

Saturday, December 9th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

This colder weather is bringing on the need for firewood. Several businesses listed in the yellow pages under firewood, say they don't have any.

KOTV's Donn Robertson checked out the rush on firewood. Suppliers KOTV talked to say it's not that there is less firewood this year. They say more and more people want it, to cut down on their cost of heating the house.

As the temperatures dropped, the work kept Buddy Conley warm. "It's gotten quit a bit colder today." His wood stove keeps his house warm, so his work also cuts down the heating bills. As some people rely on the fireplace to cut costs, other people will be cranking up the heat. ONG leaders say they are not worried about the supply, but they are worried about the cost of natural gas. That price has gone up 50% to 60% since last year.

Don Carmichael says "you get it in and it goes out real fast." Carmichael Produce has plenty of Christmas trees, but no firewood. "I see everybody has run out of wood, they had it stacked up, but there is a big demand for it right now." Carmichael adds, "we're going to be cold next week whenever we have that cold spell.

Conley works for a Tulsa tree cutting business and makes firewood to pay some of those other bills. He and a co-worker are so busy helping their current clients stay warm, they don't think they'll need to advertise this year. "We've been doing alright, I think it is going to keep us going all winter." They'll keep working hard, because energy experts say the price to keep warm has a better chance to rise, than fall.

Here are some tips from ONG on lowering your natural gas bills. Set your thermostat at 68 degrees and your water heater at 120 degrees. Put foam gaskets behind electrical outlets, caulk and weather strip windows and doors and clean or replace your furnace filters.