Wigwam or Tepee Burners (so called because of their shape) were used in the Pacific Northwest in the first half of the 20th Century to dispose of waste such as bark, sawdust, planer shavings and slabs that were a by-product of lumber mills. The burner from Arave Cedar Mill (later Tintle) is the last example in Orofino, though there were a number at one time. The Arave mill burner is located off Deerfield Dr. near Orofino Creek. It can be seen from Michigan behind Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union. See the photo below:

They were built to avoid burning the mills down while trying to dispose of the waste materials. A conveyor usually fed the wood products in the top and it was vented around the bottom to control the fire. The screens at the top were designed to let the smoke out while keeping in the cinders and sparks which threatened the area. The pungent smell of wet burning wood was associated with sawmills of the early 1900s because the fires burned most of the time.

By the 1960s, other uses were being found for this waste and the burners were pretty well banned because of the smoke they released.

For more photos and info, see this webpage: http://www.vannattabros.com/histlog26.html.

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