In the mid-1920s, spruce beetles infested most of Boulder Mountain, killing large stands of Engelmann spruce whose standing wood seasoned and dried. Residents recognized its value for lumber and mine timbers for the mines of Carbon and Emery Counties. Sawmills in Bicknell and Wayne County cut and shipped thousands of truckloads of lumber to Salt Lake City and California and mine timbers to coal mines in Emery and Carbon Counties. At least six sawmills operated in Bicknell, with more in surrounding communities and mountains. Loggers built their own mountain roads to reach the timber, first cutting trees with two-man crosscut saws and later with chain saws. While one logger sawed trees, another worked horses and heavy equipment to drag the trees to loading areas where they were trimmed. Eventually, green spruce trees were also logged, and cutting expanded to Fish Lake and Thousand Lake Mountains.