STORY: A forest area on the Liblar See in the Rhineland Nature Park is not just for rest and relaxation. In this state forest, wood is also produced and used economically. In addition to the high-quality beech and oak trees, there is also a lot of firewood this year. And this firewood is apparently particularly popular at the moment. Because it is often stolen. Dennis Koll is a forester and runs a firewood trade in the fourth generation. He almost became the victim of a large timber theft. The theft could only be prevented by the quick action of the forester. He drew conclusions from it. O-TON DENNIS KOLL, FIREWOOD DEALER,(“The wood, as soon as it has been bought from us, has to go to our yard immediately. Because at the moment it has gotten so bad that the wood is even being stolen. Trucks even know.” ) The popularity of firewood for private use has been increasing for years. Many people have had fireplaces reinstalled in their homes and rising gas prices are only increasing demand. Frank Herboth comes from Bonn by car to pick up a load of firewood. He also has gas heating at home. O-TON FRANK HERBOTH, CUSTOMER (“We heat with gas and we don’t necessarily want to pay the expensive gas prices now and therefore heat a bit with wood at least in the transitional period. It’s not our main heat source, but a little bit on the side and it has a nice, cozy atmosphere here with the fireplace crackling. It’s fun.”) Technical aids such as GPS trackers, which can protect against theft for high-quality tree species, have been around for some time. But the fact that even simple firewood has to be protected now makes Dennis Koll think. O-TON DENNIS KOLL (“Of course it is very frightening that you have to start now, the firewood, which is actually one of the poorest quality of the tree, that you have to protect it now because there is such a demand for it and that’s why it’s often stolen.”) That’s why he will continue to fetch his wood from the forest as quickly as possible with his transporter.