Turning Drought Into Business

In Houston, Texas, Embark Tree and Landscape Services has discovered a new side business because of the Texas drought. Turning dead trees into firewood.

 

''This is the opportunity we have when we're taking a lot of hardwood trees down, and we're going ahead and seizing the opportunity and expanding that service to our customers,'' said Matt Hancock, the company's vice president.

With his landscaping business off because of the drought, Hancock is finding business where he can; his firewood business is booming.

''We're talking about millions of trees, a tree on nearly every residential property you see, and certainly commercial properties, and on any unmaintained property, there are 100 percent complete stands that have died around Houston,'' Hancock said.

Here's the kicker: His clients actually pay his company to take them. At least, for the moment, the supply seems endless. Hancock said each day they add three large hardwood trees to their inventory, and that's a lot of firewood.

The city of Houston is spending millions of dollars to remove trees killed by the drought, which will be recycled into lumber or mulch.