BC Forest Facts
Age of Trees: Before 1900, fires burned an average of 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of forest per year. Currently, due to fire control efforts, fires burn an average of 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of forest per year. Logging currently occurs on about 190,000 hectares (470,000 acres) per year. The net result is an overall decrease in area disturbed, which has allowed many forests to survive to older ages.
Douglas Fir
A large tree, reaching heights of 85 metres on the coast and 42 metres in the Interior. Douglas Fir is a heartier wood than most other softwoods and has a higher strength ratio. Engineers allow longer spans with Douglas Fir because of it's strength. It also has a tendency to shrink less during the drying process. Being a heartier wood we recommend this species for more humid climates along coastal regions and high humidity locations.
Douglas Fir has a grainier texture when sanded or peeled. After a treatment is applied the grain is easily seen compared to some other softwoods. Douglas Fir is harder to cut when working with it and when dried is quite hard and resilient to wear and tear over a long period of time. Douglas Fir has a light sapwood with a yellowish/orange tinge. The heartwood is a darker color of orange/brown. Douglas Fir has a distinct odor which is fairly mild.
A Few of our customers like this wood because of it's 2-tone appearance. Canada's Log People only uses interior tight grain Doug Fir that is grown slowly and is much superior to coastal Doug Fir.
