In Navajo Nation, where firewood is in short supply, national forests fill the bill
Navajo Nation communities without electricity are kept warm by a firewood program that salvages wood left over from fire prevention efforts in national forests.
WIDE RUINS, Ariz. — Driving up a dirt road in this part of Navajo Nation, all that can be seen for miles is sagebrush until reaching Harry Joe Ashley’s house.
The Navajo elder lives in a hogan, a traditional home, built for him by neighbors in Wide Ruins, a remote town of 175 people in northeastern Arizona, about 250 miles from Phoenix. The dwelling has no electricity, running water or heat.
He can get by without the water and power, but he uses his handmade wood stove every day to heat his home on the Navajo reservation, where temperatures can reach 15 degrees F in the winter, and his water, which he receives from neighbors and a veterans nonprofit group or has shipped in and stores on his property.
Navajo elder Harry Joe Ashley.NBC NewsHe doesn’t have a way to collect wood himself, and a truck bed of firewood would cost him $300 to be delivered by others on the reservation.
“I only get a small pension from the military,” said the twice-enlisted Marine Corps veteran. “That’s just not enough.”
Rating: 5