Timber Salvaged from Wildfire-Killed Trees

Forestry experts say some trees killed as thousands of acres were blackened by East Texas wildfires have a new use.

The Texas Forest Service on Wednesday reported that more than a third of the nearly 36 million cubic feet of timber killed since June in Grimes, Jasper, Trinity and Polk counties has been salvaged.

The agency says the timber, collected through August, will be used to produce up to $110 million worth of forest products like homes, furniture and paper.

Agency official Burl Carraway said logging contractors, foresters and forest owners worked together to mitigate the timber losses.

The Texas Forest Service last month reported East Texas had lost nearly 208,000 acres of timber to wildfires since last November.