COOS BAY — Some wood is no good. And not all stacks are created equal.

If wood heat is what keeps you cozy this winter, be careful not to get burned.

Buyers have registered 17 complaints against firewood dealers so far this year, according to the state Department of Justice. That’s more than twice what were filed all of last year.

A rise of complaints corresponds with what appears to be an increasing number of firewood dealers. Yet, some people are having a hard time stoking their hearths.

“Why is it so hard to find wood in Oregon of all places?” Carol West asks.

She and her husband, Kevin, are settling into their first soggy winter on the Oregon Coast. And they’re discovering quality logs are in short supply.

The Brookings couple has been jilted three times now. Less-than-reputable dealers sold them stuff that only smolders.

“People tell us, ‘Well, you need to get the fireplace really hot,’” West said. “Well, we like to think we’re pretty good fire builders.”

They recently bought an unburnable batch for $80.

“We sold it for $40 just to get it off our property,” she said.

Others are griping about being sold short of a full cord. Adding fuel to the fire: The state can do little to penalize unscrupulous sellers.

Bottom line: “Buyer beware,” said Clark Cooney.

Cooney is the assistant administrator of the Measurement Standards Division of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and he is aware of log dealers outright scamming those who can afford it the least.

“What I see is basically poor folks getting ripped off on this stuff,” he said.

It’s illegal to sell wood by any amount other than a cord or a fraction of a cord. Even those who invite buyers to fill up truck- loads for a set price aren’t on the up and up, he said.

State not keeping tabs

But the law isn’t doing much to keep dealers in check. The state doesn’t have the resources to follow up on these cases.

“There wasn’t much of a funding source for that kind of activity,” Cooney said. “There’s no chance I see of it coming back. It really comes down to the consumer hopefully knowing who they’re buying from and knowing what they’re buying.”

Dry wood is a hot commodity these days. And more are taking to the forest to find it.

“When the economy first took a dump, there was a lot of people doing it, which worked for me,” said Tom Dempsey, owner of Mac’s Saw Shop in North Bend.

Unemployed Joes were buying saws, wood splitters and other equipment, and coming out of the woods with truck loads of logs.

A cord of wood can sell for between $140 and $175.

“Everybody just wants to make an extra buck,” Dempsey said.

Craig, a Bay Area resident who declined to give his last name, said you shouldn’t balk at the cost.

He and enterprising fellas like him spend a pretty penny to cut and haul wood. Between fuel and permit costs, there isn’t much margin for profit.

“There is money to be made, but it’s not the greatest,” he said.

Plus, “it’s tough work.”

Craig, a heavy-equipment op- erator who can’t find employment, began supplying his neighbors with wood earlier this season.

His advice to log shoppers: If it doesn’t “pop like an apple,” don’t buy it.