Why didn't I hear about this 20 years ago? Seriously, is this a new problem, or what?
You can easily argue that accidentally moving pests on contaminated firewood has been a problem pretty much since the invention of the automobile. The first problematic invasive forest pests on record arrived in North America in the late 1800's, and some of them (like gypsy moth) move easily on firewood. However, the issue has only gained national traction since scientists and land managers reached a good understanding of the huge role that firewood has played in the spread of emerald ash borer (EAB). EAB was discovered in the USA in 2002, so in that regard the problem is indeed new to the public eye.