The priest who won the payis, lottery, win the prize of terumat hadeshen, removing ash from the altar. Massechet Yoma (22a) teaches that the Sages established this task so that more kohanim would participate in the lottery. Few thought that they would win.
Our Mishna teaches that fellow priests would help the winner. He would hand the priest the wood. However, it was the winner's job to arrange the wood so that sacrifices could be offered properly. Wood from all trees was permitted except for the vine and the olive tree. Usually young branches of fig trees, nut trees and pinewood was used. That wood would be arranged on the east side of the altar. Its open side would be on the east and the inner ends of the selected logs would touch the circular heap of ashes.
Grape vines and olive wood may have been discouraged because they made too much smoke, Rav Pappa taught. Rav Acha bar Yaakov thought that it hurt the "settlement of the Land of Israel" because we should not deplete the trees that allow us to use wine and oil, which are needed. The Mishneh LeMelech asserted that bar tash'chit, the prohibition against destroying fruit trees (Devarim 20:19), was not behind this ruling. Branches can be cut; full trees cannot. The Be'er Sheva points out that cutting trees for use on the altar would not be "destructive" since it was performed to enable an important mitzvah.
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