However, it burns almost smoke-free in late fall and winter. The tamarack tree is also a conifer. It is the only tree of the pine family that loses its needles in the fall. Without its needles, it looks like a dead spruce, but it has many knobby buds and cones on its bare branches. When burning, tamarack wood makes a lot of smoke and is excellent for signaling purposes.
Birch trees are deciduous and the wood burns hot and fast, as if soaked with oil or kerosene.
Most birches grow near streams and lakes, but occasionally you will find a few on higher ground and away from water. Willow and alder grow in arctic regions, normally in marsh areas or near lakes and streams. These woods burn hot and fast without much smoke. Dried moss, grass, and scrub willow are other materials you can use for fuel. By bundling or twisting grasses or other scrub vegetation to form a large, solid mass, you will have a slower burning, more productive fuel.