Firewood in Cold Springs, NV

Wood heat usually sounds like an old-house story. Cold Springs breaks that pattern. It is a young community of about 11,300 people with a median build year of 2004, and its wood-heat share is still above Washoe County's by a factor of five.

At a glance

• Median home built in 2004, 67.5% since 2000
• About 5.6% of households heat mainly with wood
• ZIP 89508 as a whole runs about 9.5%
• About 59 minutes from our Carson City yard without traffic

New houses, still burning wood

About 67.5% of Cold Springs homes were built in 2000 or later, and only about 7% before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024). Yet about 202 households, 5.6%, heat mainly with wood, against 1.1% for Washoe County. About 92% of homes are owner-occupied and 90% are detached houses. So the wood stove here is a choice made in a recent build, not a leftover from the last century.

The ZIP Code figure is higher, about 9.5% or 487 households, because ZIP 89508 also covers rural parcels around the town.

Distance from the yard

Cold Springs is 49.6 miles from our Carson City yard, about 59 minutes without traffic. That estimate has no allowance for snow on the road or for chain controls. Call 775.232.8243 for availability and pricing, ask what is on hand and how it is sold, and ask how the wood would reach you. Nothing about species, amounts, prices or delivery is posted online.

Weather at the Stead gauge

The nearest station, Stead, is 6.2 miles away at 5,101 feet, about 44 feet above Cold Springs's roughly 5,057. It records a 1991-2020 mean temperature of 51.0 F, about 16.7 inches of snow and 10.97 inches of precipitation a year (NOAA). A stack that sits outdoors through a Cold Springs winter takes some snow, so leave airflow around it and cover only the top, as the EPA advises.

The fire record around town

The Forest Service puts Cold Springs's wildfire risk to homes higher than about 98% of US communities, with about 12% of buildings directly exposed. Our research lists the Loyalton fire (2020, 47,029 acres) and the Bug fire (2026, 93,733 acres) with their mapped centers within about 10 miles of town. In that setting, where the woodpile stands is a fire question. University of Nevada, Reno Extension's guide keeps the first 5 feet around a building free of woodpiles.

Washoe County burn days

Cold Springs is in Washoe County. The county's burn code runs November 1 to the end of February with green, yellow and red days, and Northern Nevada Public Health decides what each day allows for your device. We sell the wood; the agency decides when it can be burned. More in the burn code guide.