New to harvesting wood - black spots

[jparker]

I am new to harvesting my own wood and I have a question. There was a large fir that was already down on the property when I bought it last year. Its branches kept the trunk from having contact with the ground so there was no rot. I got it bucked and started spitting when I noticed black spots on the interior. I am not sure if it’s bug damage from before it blew down or bug damage after of if they aren't related to bugs at all.

So my question is what ares the black spots and do I need to be concerned? Is there anything I need to watch out for in the future when harvesting wood?

Thanks

 

[SpaceBus]

Where was the tree located? I wouldn't worry about it as long as the wood isn't rotten, which it doesn't look.

 

[johneh]

Looks like moisture staining from where bugs bored into
the wood when it was alive. nothing to worry about
Around here we have what we call pink pine
White pine picks up minerals from where it grows
in this location, it happens to grow on pink granite
and as it drys the wood turns pink. Makes interesting furniture!!

 

[Simonkenton]

You are right, those are bugs. I wouldn't worry, give 'em the Joan of Arc treatment and they will go bye bye.

 

[jparker]

I appreciate all the feedback.

Is there anything that one should be concerned with and look for when processing other than the wood being rotten?

 

[Simonkenton]

Rot is the main thing I look for. If you scrutinize a cut piece, you might see a ring of rot around the outside, just under the bark.
If you have a 12 inch diameter piece, you might see 1 inch of rot. But, looking left to right, in fact that means that 2 inches out of 12 are rotten. And this is not 1/6 of the piece it is much more than that.
To each his own but 1 inch of rot on the outside, I won't touch it, Why stack up wood that is 1/3 rotten when you can look around and find pristine wood.

Another thing is the firewood chart.

Page Not Found | Utah State University

As you can see, at 14 million BTU per cord, white fir is a Bowser. A real dog compared to the oak and ash that I get.
However you are up in the Pacific Northwest, fir may be all that you can find. In that case, fir is great.
However Douglas Fir is pretty good firewood at 20 million BTU. Is that what you have?

 

[jparker]

While splitting some more of the rounds, I noticed that some of the splits have a creamy white gel under the bark. Is that just the start of decay?

 

[Ctwoodtick]

A lot of people often freak out if they see evidence of insects and that would including termites and carpenter ants. and powder post beetles. You will definitely run across these as you process wood. Keep in mind that these types of insects will vacate the wood very soon after it is cut and split so no worries. No need for any insecticides........ever.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I'm not sure I've ever had red oak that didn't have signature holes drilled by bugs. The only things I think about are termites getting into the wood stacks (my termite guy says unlikely with hardwood) or carpenter ants. When I have hickory that carpenter ants have invaded, I just put it out by itself in the driveway in the sun. They vacate and get eaten by birds.

 

[SpaceBus]

If you find white stringy stuff in the wood usually it is fungal mycelium but there is no need to worry. Maybe just wash your hands after handling the wood. The fungus will die by the time the wood is dried.