RILEY TOWNSHIP – Mike and Jennifer Warren of Wilton brought chain saws, a flatbed trailer and an all-terrain-vehicle to a single-acre lot Saturday in the Mahoosuc Mountain Range above Newry.

On a neighboring lot, Mike Goding of Lewiston-Auburn cut and felled trees with the $299 chain saw he bought a day earlier, while Lisa Theriault did the “skidder” work – hauling logs out to their pickup trucks.

The land they were on is owned by the state. But they weren’t trespassing.

The Maine Department of Conservation, responding to an energy crisis and the prediction of a long, cold winter, made this offer last month: up to three cords of cut-your-own firewood from specially marked backwoods lots in western Maine for $25 per cord. Caution: Harvest at your own risk.

That offer touched off a rush for firewood, in many cases, without safety gear. As far as officials know, there haven’t been any serious injuries.

State officials have offered the program since the mid-1970s. Until this year, though, few knew of it.

“When the press release went out, it was right at the time of a panic,” said Peter Smith, regional manager of the department’s Farmington District. “People were panicked about oil prices and the firewood guys were behind in deliveries.”

Phones rang for a week straight, he said.

Callers were mostly from southern Maine and Lewiston-Auburn.

As of Saturday, there was a waiting list of 310 people. Normally, only a dozen people per year take advantage of the program.

Coming at a time when heating oil costs more than $4 a gallon and a cord of firewood runs from $200 to $400 and up, the program was a godsend for people like the Warrens.

“It’s easier to come up with the time than money, especially since they’re such a young family,” said Charmagne Warren, Mike’s mother.

Mike Warren, a longtime Wilton firefighter, was the only worker at the two woodlots near Newry wearing safety gear – a pair of Kevlar chaps.

“When I left, (Goding) was still alive, so that’s a good thing. He didn’t have any safety gear,” said Bureau of Parks and Lands Ranger Kim Lynch.

While watching the Warrens work efficiently, Lynch said a Saco man’s chain saw safety gear yesterday consisted only of ear plugs.

“This program is not for everybody,” Smith said.

“You really need to be an experienced woodsman who is familiar with chain saws and all the aspects of getting a tree down,” he said. “You don’t want to be by yourself. Do it in a safe manner. If you don’t have the experience, you really should get somebody to help you or look for some other type of program.”

The Farmington district has issued 75 permits to cut firewood since the announcement last month. The district covers 210,000 acres, from Farmington to Moosehead Lake to the Mahoosuc mountain range north of Newry and south to Paris.

Smith’s goal is to issue 40-60 permits every Saturday. However, the easy access lots are gone. With gasoline prices topping $3.70 a gallon, many on the waiting list are reconsidering. It’s too far to drive, Lynch said.

Of the lots where wood-cutting permits sold for $62.50 apiece – each comprising two and a half to three cords – 22 were in Hebron, 12 in Gray, and 24 in Riley Township.

John Grimmel of Mexico and his friend, Junior Brickles of Rumford, bought two of Riley’s remaining three lots on Saturday morning from Lynch, then drove in to assess them. They planned to return later and start cutting. They were happy with what they saw.

“This is great,” both said of their lots when Lynch drove up to the men on a rough dirt road that accesses Riley’s lots off Sunday River Road west of Newry.

“Oil prices are crazy right now,” Grimmel said. “It’s way too much money,” Brickles added.