From the Sunday, July 30, 2006 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
Heft a fair-sized stick out in Jack Kirkendall's neck of the woods - a log that's, say, four inches around - and you can bet it won't be heavy with water.
In fact, the dry crackle of summer has sucked the moisture right out of Kirkendall's forest, leaving logs with a water content of just 12 percent or so.
A kiln-dried piece of lumber compares at about 8 percent.
“It's been too long since we've seen rain,” said the wildfire management officer for the Bitterroot National Forest. “Plus, the convection oven's been on, just cooking away.”
Read the entire article . . .