Firewood in Virginia City, NV

Virginia City is the one place on our list where firewood is a main heating question. The census counts about 89 households that heat mainly with wood out of 336, and the weather station in town records about 46 inches of snow a year.

At a glance

• About 26.5% of households heat mainly with wood
• About 41.7% use bottled gas
• About 46.4 inches of snow a year at the Virginia City station
• Yard about 16 minutes away without traffic

Wood as a main heat source

About 89 of Virginia City's 336 households, 26.5%, heat mainly with wood, compared with 1.4% nationally and 1.0% in Nevada (ACS 2020-2024). Another 41.7% use bottled gas. Storey County as a whole is 9.9%. About 76% of homes were built before 1980, with a median year of 1956. The census figures for a town this small carry wide margins, so read them as a pattern, not a precise count.

Winters at 6,200 feet

The Virginia City station, 0.2 mile from the town center at 6,340 feet, records about 46.4 inches of snow and 11.7 inches of total precipitation a year, with a mean temperature of 50.6 F (NOAA 1991-2020). A household that relies on wood should plan the supply before the first storm, not during it.

Getting wood up the hill

The yard is 10.7 miles and about 16 minutes from Virginia City without traffic, a free-flow estimate that does not account for snow. Call 775.232.8243 first. Ask what is available, whether it is ready to burn, how much to order for the season and how it would get to your address. The office quotes the price. We do not publish prices, species or terms.

How long does firewood take to dry for a long winter?

Penn State Extension advises that wood takes 6 to 12 months to dry to about 20% moisture, and recommends stacking it off the ground on pallets with only the top covered. In a town where a stove is the main heat, dry wood matters: Penn State says it burns cleaner and heats better. Ask the office about the wood you are buying and plan your stacking so next winter's supply is drying through this one.

Planning the supply early

With about two thirds of Virginia City households on wood or bottled gas (26.5% and 41.7%), supply planning matters. Call early in the season rather than after the first hard freeze, and ask the office about availability for the whole winter. If the road is closed or snowy, the plan should include a backup. Our snow crew works in the winter too, and the office can talk through both.