EUREKA -- Don’t be surprised if you call Eureka Stoves & Fireside Shop and you get an answering machine.

Even a phrase like business is booming would be an understatement for owner Julie Cooper, who currently relies on her front door sign to apologize for the craziness likely to ensue once you walk through her doors.

Cooper expects winter to be a hectic time because efficient heating issues usually don’t come up until it gets cold enough for people to turn on the heat. But given the staggering increases in natural gas and electricity this year, consecutive record lows in previous years back East and the Gulf Coast hurricanes -- this year has been the busiest for Eureka Stoves since it opened in 1976 and the busiest for the pellet stove and wood stove industry as well.

Cooper said that before the hurricanes hit, by a stroke of what her bookkeeper was concerned was a hint of madness, she decided to drastically increase her winter stove pre-purchases. At that time industry estimates on winter natural gas price increases were lingering around 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent. Then, after Hurricane Katrina hit -- out of concern for availability of stoves and a revised prediction of gas increases in the 70 percent range -- again she hit the phones to reorder. At a purchasing increase of 100 percent over last year, Cooper said she is still struggling to meet demand.

So far the gamble has paid off. Big. Pellet stove sales are up 40 percent over last year, wood stove sales have increased 17 percent so far and despite the skyrocketing gas prices, gas stoves are only down by 2 percent. Cooper said the reason why gas stoves have held on in the face of crazy gas prices is because many people are catching onto the idea of zone heating, and using stoves as secondary heat sources.

”In Humboldt County gas stoves are a really good way to heat,” she said. “Most of us are heating one general area of about 500-600 square feet and so you can zone heat just that area rather than heat the rest of the house when you don’t really need to. And the reality is that in a few months, gas prices will likely come back down.”

Jeff Haas, general manager of Dazey’s Supply in Redway, said he too has experienced increases in wood and pellet stove sales of around 20 percent. Haas said that wood stove sales for him have been really strong because many people in Southern Humboldt have wood on their property for fuel. Even with the availability, he said that wood prices are currently running between $200 and $300 a cord. Currently he is sold out of pellet stoves until next week.

Leslie Wheeler, communications director for the non-profit organization Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, said that the entire stove industry has been slammed nationwide. The association is a trade organization representing manufacturers, suppliers and retailers and is based out of Arlington, Va.

”I’ve been with the association for 10 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Wheeler said pointing to all the same reasons for increases as Cooper. “Retailers are clamoring for more products, and manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand. I expected there to be a big demand for stoves in just the Northeast, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

Cooper said she has heard from one stove manufacturer that even the president of the company -- a multi-millionaire -- has been in the warehouse helping assemble stoves. Wheeler and Cooper agreed that in this time of demands on suppliers and manufacturers the recipe for stove price increases is imminent. For those who have considered purchasing a stove -- even if a retailer doesn’t have the exact model in stock -- ordering the stove in advance will at least guarantee the purchase will be locked in at the current price, Cooper said.

”You don’t want people to panic but that’s the reality right now,” she said. “This has never happened before, nobody could have been prepared for this.”

Ann Johnson-Stromberg covers McKinleyville, business and general assignment. She can be reached at 441-0538 or astromberg@

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