Tree Frog Forestry News is proud to once again partner with the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee (WCSIC) to bring you Wildfire Resilience and Awareness Week—now in its fourth year. When we launched this initiative in 2023, wildfire was already a growing concern. Today, it’s a defining reality. Seasons are longer, fires are more intense, and the impacts reach well beyond the burn zone—affecting communities, economies, and public health across the region. That’s why this week continues to matter.
All week long, Tree Frog Forestry News—together with our sponsors and contributors—will feature stories that explore wildfire mitigation, resilience, and adaptation. From on-the-ground practices to broader policy and research, these perspectives highlight what it means to live with fire in a changing landscape.
We encourage you to follow along, dig into the resources, and share these stories with your networks. Because when it comes to wildfire, awareness isn’t optional—it’s essential.
Each year, Wildfire Resilience and Awareness Week is a reminder of a reality we are all facing. Wildfires are no longer a distant or a seasonal threat. They are at our doorstep and part of our new normal, impacting communities throughout British Columbia. Since 2017, we have experienced some of the most destructive wildfire seasons in our province’s history. Entire communities have been changed. Through it all, we have seen the extraordinary courage of firefighters and first responders who step forward when others are told to leave. When others must evacuate, they risk their lives so communities can be saved. But we have also learned something very important. Preparation makes a huge difference. If we’re going to meet this moment, we cannot simply react to wildfire, we must get ahead of it. …
Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade to outline the promise and complexity of growing Canadian forest sector exports to Japan — and to make a pointed case for sustained federal investment to make it happen. Canada currently ships roughly $1 billion annually to Japan, a figure Nighbor put in context: it reflects a century of Canadian forestry trade there and 50 years of work by the Canada Wood Group. “It’s a heavy lift,” he said. Against nearly $8 billion in annual softwood lumber exports to the United States — now facing combined duties and Section 232 tariffs in the 45% range — Japan is a real but incremental diversification opportunity. Canada holds 65% of Japan’s 2×4 dimension lumber market, built by actively developing a wood-building culture where one didn’t naturally exist. Holding and growing that share, Nighbor told the committee, requires sustained technical engagement on codes, standards, and the platform frame system — not simply shipping more product. He also flagged headwinds: declining Japanese housing starts, growing domestic Japanese lumber supply, aggressive European entry across lumber, pulp, and pellets, and tightening Japanese sustainability and traceability requirements.
Vancouver Island is heading into the 2026 wildfire season under precarious conditions. Island snowpack is below normal, Environment Canada forecasts warmer and drier conditions through June, and there’s a 62 per cent chance of a strong El Niño by late summer — the weather pattern behind the prolonged heat and drought that intensifies wildfire risk. For Mosaic, which manages over 550,000 hectares of private forest land across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast on behalf of two of Canada’s largest pension plans, wildfire preparedness is fundamental to responsible land management. This year, the company is further preparing by expanding its wildfire detection and mitigation capabilities. …This season, Mosaic is set to pilot an integrated detection system in the Nanaimo Lakes drainage, combining cameras, ground-level sensors and low-orbit satellite monitoring to identify ignitions faster and across a wider area. …“Our forests support local economies, local pensions and are cherished recreational spaces,” said Steve Mjaaland, Senior Manager of Forest Protection at Mosaic.
The US Department of Commerce is 
The Province and seven Treaty 8 First Nations have taken a next step toward creating a thriving and community-centered local economy in northeastern British Columbia. Restoration agreements will restore and protect the environment, provide predictability and stability to existing industries, as well as establish new business opportunities in the region, while ensuring historic Treaty Rights are upheld. “The restoration agreements will build on the strong partnership that we have with the Treaty 8 First Nations, which is a First Nations led approach,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions. “This work is guided by the belief that healing the land and healing the people are inseparable. …This partnership approach to land and resource management will help to uphold constitutionally protected Treaty Rights, while supporting a vibrant economy.”
MACKENZIE, BC — Conifex will temporarily curtail sawmill operations at its Mackenzie facility for about seven weeks starting May 19, 2026, with a target restart in July 2026. This planned sawmill curtailment is primarily driven by log inventory levels and fibre availability, in conjunction with seasonal logging breakup conditions impacting supply across the BC Interior. Logging operations are expected to resume in early June, subject to, among other things, weather conditions. The curtailment represents an approximately 25 million board feet supply impact. We continue to advance initiatives underway to broaden our available financing options. …Conifex restarted the Mackenzie sawmill in February after a four-week curtailment. The restart followed the completion of a $19 million secured term loan for its subsidiary Conifex Mackenzie Forest Products. 
VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber reported the first quarter results of 2026. First quarter sales were $1.334 billion, compared to $1.165 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter earnings were $(188) million, compared to earnings of $(751) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $(66) million compared to $(79) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Included in first quarter Adjusted EBITDA in the Lumber segment is ($114) million of duty adjustments related to prior periods compared to nil in the fourth quarter of 2025. …North America Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, and Europe Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $10 million. …Sean McLaren, West Fraser’s President and CEO said “Excluding the impact of prior year duty adjustments, we were pleased to see all of our core segments – lumber, NA EWP, and Europe EWP – report positive Adjusted EBITDA.” 
NEW BRUNSWICK — Postmedia plans to stop printing most New Brunswick newspapers in Moncton. Postmedia publishes the Times & Transcript, Telegraph-Journal, Daily Gleaner and other local newspapers. They are printed and distributed from a building along Main Street in downtown Moncton. Dave Arsenault, president of the New Brunswick Media Guild, confirmed that print and distribution will cease in Moncton and be moved elsewhere. …”Following an assessment of printing and insert packaging operations, it was determined that outsourcing these operations from Postmedia’s Moncton facility would allow us to continue serving print subscribers and advertisers while supporting long-term financial sustainability,” the company said Wednesday. The printing will be outsourced out of province starting Aug. 2. Postmedia bought most of New Brunswick’s English-language newspapers from Irving-owned Brunswick News in 2022.
Dear North Cowichan mayor and council, and Premier David Eby: It’s not surprising a four-councillor cluster voted against a cogent April 15 motion urging our province to review and strengthen our forest policies, including those governing raw-log exports. The difference this time is right-wing councillors Findlay, Manhas, Caljouw Jr., and Hogg seemingly disregarded valley forest workers, and backed corporate timber firms’ desires for less, not more, public land-harvesting rules and regulations. Coun. Chris Justice’s logical, timely motion aimed to boost wood-fibre supplies for Canadian processing and value-added manufacturing — supporting local and Island forestry jobs — partly through a long-sought raw-log export ban. …Admit the current industry’s end is near. Instead, let’s finally explore making alternative, job-rich building materials in North Cowichan and elsewhere.
Wildfire investigators found a small cabin, a barbecue, a metal campfire ring and shooting targets near where one of the most destructive wildfires in the Okanagan originated. But while the McDougall Creek wildfire was determined to be human caused, the exact cause of the fire remains “undetermined.” The McDougall Creek was first reported to the BC Wildfire Service on Aug. 15, 2023, putting up a small puff of smoke in the hills above West Kelowna. Two days later, the fire had spread rapidly through a number of Central Okanagan neighbourhoods, destroying nearly 200 homes. This past December, the Ministry of Forests completed its Wildfire Origin and Cause Investigation Report… But despite more than two years of investigation by three wildfire investigators, the cause of the massive fire remains “undetermined.” This is largely due to the fire burning back over the area of origin, destroying any evidence of its ignition.
Marking its 10th anniversary, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC is highlighting a decade of work advancing forest resilience, fibre utilization, and climate action across the province. Framed by Earth Day reflections, the latest update underscores how thoughtful forest management—from wildfire risk reduction to rehabilitation and better use of low-value fibre—can play a meaningful role in addressing climate change. FESBC continues to support projects that reduce slash burning by turning residual fibre into bioenergy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions while creating economic opportunities for communities. The newsletter also points to the importance of collaboration, including Indigenous leadership, in delivering lasting forest stewardship outcomes. Featured stories include a fuel management project with Kenpesq’t Forestry, reflections from former forests minister Doug Donaldson, and recognition of FESBC’s impact at the BC Legislature. A safety tip from the BC Forest Safety Council rounds out the update, reinforcing the sector’s ongoing focus on worker safety.
Air traffic in parts of west-central Alberta has been busier than normal over the last few days as the province prepares for another wildfire season. Newly recruited wildland firefighters are participating in training sessions in Hinton, Alta., about 270 kilometres west of Edmonton. The rookies will learn how to initially attack a fire, a process that includes a helicopter ride. Meanwhile in nearby Edson, Alta., about 90 kilometres to the east, seven planes have been stationed at the Edson Air Tanker Base. The planes, which arrived on Monday, are ready to be deployed in the event a wildfire breaks out in the region, said Derrick Forsythe, an information officer with Alberta Wildfire. The area has seen less snow than other parts of the province.
Mother Nature is the expert on growing forests, but sometimes she needs a helping hand. This hand is especially helpful when something disrupts her well-honed process in the first place. Such is the case with the forestry plantations in qax mot and the effort to restore these areas by the Comox Valley Land Trust (CVLT). Located at the Morrison Creek headwaters up Lake Trail Rd., the qax mot Conservation Area consists of 22 hectares of riparian forests and forestry plantations. …About 9 per cent of qax mot consists of forestry plantations. While it might seem like planting trees is always a good idea, the way the Douglas fir plantations were installed prohibit the natural regenerative cycle essential to a healthy forest. The trees were planted too closely, making it nearly impossible for light to break through the canopy, leaving the forest floor virtually barren of the undergrowth species we associate with a thriving West Coast forest.
Saint John’s fire department wants the city to adopt a long-term plan to reduce the risk of wildfires and strengthen the ability to fight them. A proposed plan, which includes raising public awareness and improving wildfire training for firefighters, earned the support of the city’s public safety committee at a meeting Wednesday. Recommendations came after a detailed evaluation of wildfire risks based on terrain, weather and climate influences, locations of homes and other factors. Saint John has not experienced large-scale wildfires in recent history, as other areas of New Brunswick have, but the evaluation identified a moderate overall wildfire risk in some areas of the city. Steep hillsides, and extensive forestry, park space and other green areas — particularly near dense neighbourhoods — create risky conditions for the city uncommon in other parts of the province, Deputy Chief Ed Moyer of the Saint John Fire Department told the committee.
Our warming world is set to enter an