MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — Personal-use firewood permits are now on sale for wood collection from the Mendocino National Forest.
The permit and tags cost $2 per cord with a minimum purchase required of $20 for 10 cords.
The maximum number of cords that can be purchased is 12 cords per household. Permits are valid through Dec. 31, 2023.
Visitors can purchase a permit in person at the Supervisor's Office in Willows or from the Upper Lake District Office. It is suggested to bring a completed permit request form to ease the purchase.
Supervisor’s Office
825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows
Telephone: 530-934-3316
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.
Upper Lake District Office
10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake
Telephone: 707-275-2361
Call for days and hours
Permits may also be obtained via mail by downloading a firewood permit request form at https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/mendocino/firewood and following the mail-in instructions. Please allow three weeks to receive the permit, tags and the map of cutting areas on the forest. A third-party authorization form to allow another person to cut wood for the permit-holder is also available upon request.
It is illegal to remove firewood from the forest without a valid permit. Any wood removed from the forest must be dead and on the ground.
The maximum length for a piece of wood to be removed is 6 feet.
A cord of wood is a well-stacked pile measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. A chart with truck bed sizes and approximate cord capacity is available online at https://bit.ly/3kxoocW.
Firewood collected within Lake and Mendocino counties is subject to state and federal quarantines to limit the spread of the Sudden Oak Death, or SOD, pathogen.
Firewood taken from these counties can only be transported into other SOD quarantined counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, Monterrey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Trinity counties.
After several rounds of winter storms, access into the forest on both county roads and forest roads has been significantly impacted. Visitors should call or check for latest conditions and closure alerts at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices.
