Every downed pine in Conecuh County has started losing value, and so has every other downed pine for miles around. Hurricane Isaias put thousands of landowners on the same deadline. Each of them now needs a logger, a truck and space at a mill during the same short stretch of fall and early winter. That shared deadline will set what salvage timber brings this season more than the quality of any one stand.
The Alabama Forestry Commission's first look shows how large that stretch of woods is. ABC 33/40 reported that the commission's preliminary assessment puts Isaias damage at an estimated 2.5 million tons of Alabama timber, valued at more than $33.5 million. The aerial survey concentrated on Conecuh, Escambia and Monroe counties.
Downed Pine Has a Shelf Life Measured in Weeks
Standing timber can wait for a better market, but a tree on the ground can't. Alabama Extension's guidance on storm-damaged timber says uprooted trees may stay harvestable for two to three months. Broken trees dry out faster and should be harvested as soon as possible. Guidance from UF/IFAS, the University of Florida's agricultural extension service, is a little tighter. It says damaged timber good enough for lumber or plywood generally needs to be harvested within one to two months, and a salvage period usually runs no longer than 60 to 90 days. After that, blue stain, decay, wood borers and bark beetles start eating into the value.
Isaias came ashore in early-to-mid October, so by the end of the month most owners have already used up about three weeks of that window. Extension's two-to-three-month estimate for uprooted pine runs out somewhere around the start of winter. Broken stems are on a shorter clock than that.
The trees left standing aren't safe either. Alabama Extension says to remove severely damaged trees and trees with major wounds first. It also says to watch stressed standing trees for beetle activity, especially southern pine beetle.
This Storm Is Bigger Than Sally
The last hurricane many South Alabama owners remember is Sally in 2020, and it's a poor guide to what is happening now. The Alabama Forestry Commission's Hurricane Sally assessment found forest damage in a single county.
| Hurricane Sally, 2020 | Hurricane Isaias, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Timber damaged | 79,175 tons | About 2.5 million tons, preliminary |
| Estimated value | $1,564,160 | More than $33.5 million, preliminary |
| Where | 2,440 forested acres, all in Baldwin County | Survey focused on Conecuh, Escambia and Monroe counties |
By tonnage, the early Isaias estimate is more than 30 times Sally's total. AFC pilots flew the survey on October 13. They mapped a damaged area about 36 miles long and up to seven miles wide, covering 154,783 acres. Of that, 64,795 acres are classified as forestland and 40,805 as woody wetlands. Those acreages describe the survey area. They are not a count of acres damaged. The commission also says ground surveys still have to confirm the figures.
State Forester Rick Oates struck a measured note in the same ABC 33/40 report. "While we are thankful the damage was not as extensive as it could have been, these losses are still devastating for Alabama landowners," he said.
On the ground, the losses are concrete. FOX10 reported damage to homes, barns, equipment and timber around Repton and Lenox. WBRC reported that as of October 15, 35% of Repton was still without power. Evergreen and Castleberry were about 95% restored by then, and unincorporated Conecuh County about 50%. The same families sorting out a barn roof and a power outage now also face the salvage clock.
When Everyone Sells at Once, the Mill Sets the Price
The economics here are simple. In an ordinary year, timber sales in a county are spread out. One family thins a stand in spring, another clearcuts in fall, and mills plan around a steady flow of wood. Isaias put a whole region's worth of wood on the market at the same moment, and every seller is working against a deadline.
Alabama Extension spells out the result. Salvage returns are generally lower than normal because storm damage lowers timber quality, the extra supply can push stumpage prices down, and storm conditions can raise logging costs. Stumpage is the price paid for standing timber. In a salvage season the wood is worth less, more of it is for sale, and it costs more to get out.
Logging capacity is just as tight. UF/IFAS says salvage harvesting can take two to three times as long as regular logging. A crew that would normally clear a tract in a week may need two or three on tangled blowdown, so the same number of loggers can work fewer tracts before the window closes. A small tract of downed pine may struggle to get on a logger's schedule at all. UF/IFAS suggests that neighboring owners combine their volume where they can, which improves the chances of hiring a logger and getting a reasonable stumpage price. In a county of family-owned tracts, that may be the most practical idea in any of the official guidance.
Cleanup brings its own risk. On October 15, the Alabama Forestry Commission told residents to use extreme caution when burning Isaias debris. It recommended waiting for more rain, and if burning can't wait, watching the weather and staying on site.
What Happened a Year After Michael
The closest example with real data is Hurricane Michael in 2018. The USDA Forest Service says Michael damaged more than 6 million acres of forest across Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Afterward, mills were flooded with salvaged pine and hardwood, and timber prices fell. About a year later, much of the fallen timber was too rotten or damaged to salvage, and the region was short on wood. The Forest Service says owners with standing trees could then sell at higher prices.
So the glut and the shortage came from the same storm. The flood of downed wood drove prices down. A year later that wood had rotted and left the market, and the timber still standing became the scarce kind.
A 2025 Forest Service study measured the first half of that pattern. It estimated that Michael caused a 6% drop in regional pine pulpwood prices. In the hardest-hit local market, prices fell 9% for pine sawtimber and 77% for hardwood sawtimber right after the storm. The study measures only those immediate price effects, not what came later. The hardwood figure matters here because more than 40,000 acres of the Isaias survey area are woody wetlands.
Isaias is not Michael. Michael's damage covered three states, while the early Isaias estimate covers a strip about 36 miles long. A smaller glut may mean a smaller swing either way. Michael shows how this kind of market can behave. It doesn't forecast Conecuh County prices, and no source yet connects Isaias to land values in either direction.
For an owner with mixed acreage, the practical point is this. The downed wood and the standing wood on one tract are now in two different markets. One is on a deadline, and the other can wait.
What the Forestry Guidance Puts First
Alabama Extension's post-hurricane management guide sets out the first steps on a timeline, starting with the first week after the storm and continuing through the first month:
- In the first week, once it is safe to return, document the damage with photos and written records, including property boundaries, roads, fences and gates.
- Also in the first week, look into disaster assistance by contacting local offices such as the USDA Farm Service Agency and Cooperative Extension. Start any insurance claim early.
- Within the first month, have the land assessed for salvage by a state or private consulting forester, who can estimate salvage value and lay out management options. The Alabama Forestry Commission's guidance on selling timber recommends a Registered Forester to assess the stand and market the wood.
Extension's separate storm-damaged timber guidance adds that owners with land enrolled in CRP or EQIP should notify USDA.
On assistance, a USDA release dated October 9 lists the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program as recovery tools for land and forests, and sends producers to their local USDA Service Center. That release came out before the storm and does not announce a signup or deadline for Isaias. The Service Center is where any program opening will show up. This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm your own situation with your forester, the Farm Service Agency and your tax professional.
A Few Straight Answers
Is the $33.5 million figure final? No. The Alabama Forestry Commission calls it preliminary and says ground surveys need to confirm it. It hasn't published a county-by-county breakdown.
Does uprooted timber go bad as fast as snapped timber? Not as fast. Alabama Extension says uprooted trees may stay harvestable for two to three months, while broken trees that dry quickly should come out as soon as possible.
My pines are still standing. Am I in the clear? Standing timber doesn't face the same deadline, but Extension advises watching stressed trees for beetles, especially southern pine beetle. After Michael, the Forest Service found that standing timber was the wood that grew scarce a year later.
If you own timber acreage in Conecuh, Escambia or Monroe County and want to talk through what Isaias means for that land, including the damaged stands and the ones still standing, the team at PHD Realty is glad to sit down with you. We've worked with families on land, farms and timber tracts across South Alabama for a long time. We'll give you a plain answer and help you bring in the right forester and other professionals before you sign anything. Contact Us.
