06/10/2026
In 1910, a devastating fire burned through millions of acres across northern Idaho, Montana, Washington, and into Canada.
It became known as the Big Burn.
Near Wallace, Idaho, it left behind old-growth Tamarack trees. Killed by the fire, but still standing for decades.
Some of them were up to 900 years old.
Decades later, an architect had a vision for the RV Lodge in McCall, Idaho. He wanted that wood for the lodge.
Not ordinary logs.
Old-growth Tamarack.
The kind of material you do not just order.
The kind of material most people would say was impossible to get.
So he called Brian Schafer.
After nearly a year of persistence, opposition, and problem solving, Brian helped make it happen. According to the plaque, he persuaded Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus to approve the harvest of the standing dead Tamarack near Wallace, Idaho.
Only 1 in 10 trees met the Logwright’s highest standards.
And from that rare material, the lodge was built.
Today, Brian is standing beside the plaque that still hangs in the lobby of the RV Lodge, telling the story of what it took to bring that wood into this build.
Trees that were growing before Idaho was a state. Before Lewis and Clark. Centuries before Columbus.
That is the difference between building with wood and understanding what wood carries.
