This past summer once again saw wildfires rip through the BC Interior resulting in lost homes and uprooted communities. As always, we’re left wondering why did this happen? Could it have been prevented? In the case of the Summerland fire, CBC reported that fuel management and prescribed burning work had been planned in some of the affected areas but had not been carried out. But the situation is more nuance than the reporting suggests. Considerable mitigation work had taken place around the community over the past two decades including fuel management treatments, ecological burns, and targeted grazing. The effectiveness of those efforts, along with other factors across the landscape and efforts of individual local residents, will no doubt be studied in detail in the months ahead. The impact of this wildfire does not mean mitigation failed. Quite the opposite; it suggests that preventative work matters, that FireSmart initiatives by homeowners are imperative, and that communities are safer because of it.
Forest Professionals BC partnered with BC Wildfire Service to work on building the professional capacity needed for modern wildfire management. We have established three wildfire-related areas of professional practice, developed competency standards, created targeted professional development, and introduced new licensing pathways to ensure that critical wildfire planning is carried out by regulated professionals who are knowledgeable, skilled, and accountable to the public.
A Chemainus company is getting a $2-million boost from the province to expand its operations and create new jobs, amid punishing duties and tariffs from the U.S. Ron Anderson & Sons, which makes prefabricated wall systems, plans to diversify its product line to include prefabricated floors, roof panels and stairs for builders, creating about 35 new jobs. “With the US targeting our manufacturing industries, it has never been more important to help local businesses like Ron Anderson & Sons sell more of what they make here at home,” Adrian Dix, acting minister of jobs said Wednesday. Ron Anderson & Sons says it has already invested in advanced manufacturing equipment, hiring of 20 new employees. Jack Downing, CEO, said the government funding will help the company expand its capacity and invest in advanced automation. …Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said that amid “economic attacks” from the U.S., the province is unlocking the full value of BC wood.
VANCOUVER – British Columbia forestry groups have written to Premier David Eby saying the industry is at a “breaking point” and calling for urgent action to address challenges ranging from slow-moving provincial processes to steep U.S. tariffs. The letter dated Sept. 4 said the entire industry is at risk, from logging and transportation to pulp and paper and value-added manufacturing. “…Government must respond with the urgency that crisis demands,” said the letter from contractors, manufacturers, unions and others linked to the sector. …But other challenges are “homegrown,” it said. The province “can control many of the costs, regulations, policies, permitting processes and fibre-access decisions that determine whether those companies survive it,” the letter said. …Eddie Petryshen, with Wildsight, said the “falldown” of the forest industry has been predicted — and ignored — for decades. …Parmar highlighted the province’s plan to shift to a “working forest” model, saying that it would address concerns the industry has been raising.
KAMLOOPS — Forestry stakeholders in British Columbia, from loggers to truckers, First Nations, unions and specialty groups have signed an open letter to Premier David Eby demanding immediate action on the forest sector. Pulp is the main game for forestry in Kamloops, with the Kruger mill employing hundreds in the community either directly or indirectly. U.S. Section 338 tariffs are expanding, expected to hit the pulp sector. “Unlike lumber, the tariffs aren’t as dramatic of a direct hit because we sell about 90 per cent of our pulp offshore, not to the United States,” said Joe Nemeth from the B.C. Pulp and Paper Coalition. …Kamloops MLA and forest critic Ward Stamer was in favour of the actions outlined, highlighting the need for a quick response from government to save the sinking industry. …Solutions around permitting and increasing allowable cut, some of the quicker changes the province could enact. Without that change, Nemeth is worried for the future.
Oliver, BC — The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and the Gorman Group, through Similkameen Forest Products Ltd. (SFP), signed a partnership agreement on July 20, 2026, that gives the OIB a direct role in the planning and management of Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 59. TFL 59 is located east of Oliver within the OIB’s traditional territory. It is a long-term tree farm licence that provides the holder of the licence the opportunity to manage a defined forest area, and it has been held and managed by SFP. Through its forestry company, Nk’Mip Forestry LLP (Nk’Mip), the agreement means that the OIB will now be involved in the management work from the beginning of the forest planning process.
For Mission businesses enduring the trade war with the United States, uncertainty is the real killer. …A spokesperson for Gill Timbers International, a local timber and lumber exporter, said the trade war is devastating for businesses on both sides of the border. “Businesses can only thrive on certainties,” the spokesperson said. Gill Timbers International estimates that about 90 per cent of its business has been lost during the “ongoing back and forth” between Canada and the United States. Before Trump was elected, the business had a presence inside the U.S. but has needed to scale back and diversify since. … Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Miriam Bozman said “Mission’s economy is very closely tied to cross-border trade through forestry and wood products, manufacturing, logistics, construction, agriculture. Increased costs, supply chain disruptions, and market uncertainty significantly affect business planning and growth across our community,” Bozman said.
CHAPLEAU — The Ontario government is building a strong and self-reliant economy by investing over $17.3 million in four projects that will modernize forest sector manufacturing, enhance the industry’s competitive advantage and strengthen forestry supply chains by using more mill by‑products and underused wood known as forest biomass. …This funding is part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario forestry workers in the face of recent U.S. tariff attacks by building a more resilient, innovative and diversified forest sector, ready to compete in global markets. …The Forest Sector Investment and Innovation Program and Forest Biomass Program investments will support four projects advancing the 
A new chapter in the effort to better manage water around Western Forest Products’ Saltair sawmill is taking shape. The company is creating a new runoff filtering system designed to collect and control surface water from the mill and surrounding area before it can make its way beyond the site into Ladysmith Harbour. The rainwater and stormwater runoff interacting with fine woody materials and galvanized mill infrastructure will shortly all be directed into an almost natural setting. “We want to make sure all the rainwater runoff from our site is filtered and it’s going into the ocean clean,” said Tyler Fraser, production superintendent at the mill. “Prior to this project all the surface water went into the storm drains, which would then lead to an oil-water separator before the harbour.” …“We have an established constructed wetland up at Beaver Cove in Telegraph Cove that has worked perfectly,” said Ben Matthews, mill environmental regulatory manager for WFP.
Prince George city council voted to send a letter to the federal jobs minister asking her to extend temporary employment insurance program for forestry workers in response to the impending closure of Northwood Pulp Mill at its Monday, Aug. 31 meeting. A report written by intergovernmental relations senior advisor Annie Doran and submitted by Coun. Garth Frizzell in his role as chair of the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs said that in the wake of the ongoing U.S.-Canada trade war, the federal government instituted several temporary measures, including: Waiving the waiting period for all new claims; Suspending the allocation of separation earnings like vacation pay, severance pay and more; and Increasing the number of weeks that long-tenured workers can received benefits to a maximum of 20. These benefits were implemented on March 30, 2025 and are expected to end on Oct. 10, 2026.
Nanaimo is bracing for the impacts the implementation of the 50% tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian goods that came into effect on Aug. 22 will have on the local business community. Julie Sperber, the new CEO of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce said… it’s clear that many of the region’s forest companies are going to take a big hit. …“Companies like the Harmac Pacific pulp mill won’t be affected as much because much of their products go to Asia, but Coastland Wood Industries are feeling the impacts of US tariffs for the first time.” Secondary-wood products like veneer sheets have been explicitly targeted for the first time. Doug Pauze, president of Coastland, said the company has scaled back production. …Sperber said officials from Western Forest Products and Mosaic Forest Management have planned meetings with government members in Victoria to discuss strategies to deal with the tariffs.
The Member of Parliament for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford is calling on the federal government to explore how it could potentially use the Crofton mill. MP Jeff Kibble is floating the idea of it being used by the Department of National Defense. …On Friday, crews were loading logs onto a ship at its deep sea port. It’s one of the key assets of the property that has the region’s MP calling on Ottawa to consider the property’s purchase. “What I recommended is that the government immediately conduct a feasibility study to see if this is an opportunity to expand the base at Esquimalt. We know that the opportunity to have a deep water industrial site is rare and we also know that the navy is expanding rapidly,” said Kibble. Kibble served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 28 years. …When asked about Kibble’s proposal, Domtar said it’s “exploring a variety of possibilities for the future of the site”.
Two weeks until the 23rd Annual Global Buyers Mission in Whistler! At a time when trade barriers, transportation constraints, and rising operating costs are influencing how businesses plan and source, strong supplier–buyer relationships matter more than ever. GBM brings B.C.’s value-added wood manufacturers together with pre-qualified international buyers, distributors, and specifiers. From targeted B2B meetings and conversations on the tradeshow floor to networking receptions including the Women’s Networking Event, WoodTALKS seminars, and a few memorable Whistler moments along the way, GBM is designed to create connections that last well beyond the event. See you in Whistler, September 10-12!
Osoyoos, British Columbia — September 21–22, 2026 Every industry has its acronyms. Few, however, land quite like the one the Independent Lumber Manufacturers’ Association (ILMA) has chosen for its 2026 Annual Convention: WTF — Where’s The Fibre? It’s a cheeky title for a serious question. Fibre availability — the raw material that keeps sawmills running, communities employed, and Canada’s forest sector competitive — has become one of the defining challenges facing the industry. ILMA’s answer is to lean into the tension rather than tiptoe around it, gathering the people who can actually do something about the problem for two days of conversation, deal-making, and, yes, a little golf. The ILMA Annual Convention has built a reputation as one of Canada’s premier forestry networking events, and this year’s edition returns to Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos, located on the traditional territory of the Osoyoos Indian Band. The ILMA’s convention is intentionally curated — bringing together company owners and senior executives from across the sector alongside government representatives, First Nations leaders, suppliers, consultants, and forestry professionals.
Statistics Canada’s August Labour Force Survey showed British Columbia shed a net 5,500 positions last month, lifting the provincial unemployment rate to 6.5 per cent from 6.2 per cent in July. The result places B.C. 0.1 percentage points above the national average, even as Canada as a whole lost a net 42,000 jobs during the same period. Bryan Yu, chief economist at Central 1 Credit Union, attributed the losses to two sustained pressures: a prolonged absence of meaningful private-sector investment growth and a shrinking population as temporary residents depart following federal immigration policy changes. Educational services accounted for the steepest single-sector decline, with roughly 6,300 positions lost. …Construction and retail and wholesale trade each recorded significant losses as well, with the latter shedding approximately 3,800 jobs. …Natural resources lost 2,600 jobs provincially and continued to record the largest year-over-year contraction at 17.2%, driven by mill closures and curtailments across the province.
Are you looking to enhance your skills in the lumber and sawmill sector? Onboarding new employees that would benefit from formal education in the field? Are you seeking to provide your employees with essential business skills for professional development? BCIT is currently offering two Associate Certificates to help you: 
Wildfire restoration expert Angela Kane says she knows the high toll of being displaced by wildfire. She is the CEO of the Secwepemcul’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society (SRSS), an Indigenous-led wildfire recovery organization that formed after the devastating 2017 Elephant Hill fire that burned close to 200,000 hectares near Ashcroft, B.C. …Kane said the scale of the destruction is also surreal, as B.C. sees such intense wildfires happening more frequently due to climate change. Recalling her experience flying over the landscape burned by the Elephant Hill fire, Kane said she was stunned by the devastation. …Kane said the first task for the society’s restoration efforts is finding areas where the soil has not been badly damaged and working with First Nations to determine where and what to plant. …“We did 292 page report on the Elephant Hill Wildfire lessons Learned back in 2017, which outlined to the provincial government, as well as BC wildfire, calls to action and recommendations,” said Kane.
Glenn Tytenbeek isn’t just opposed to a plan to log parts of Spallumcheen’s Rose Swanson Mountain area, he is “vehemently opposed.” Tytenbeek was one of many people who attended an open house by the BC Timber Sales proposal which proposes to harvest up of 35.7 hectares of forest, spread over 15 smaller patches, ranging in size from one to 4.3-hectare openings. …Lisa Broughton was also opposed to the logging project. “I feel it is pure greed. Why should the rest of us have to suffer, the wildlife has to suffer and the forest being ravaged because of a company’s greed.” …“I actually don’t hear any concerns,” Warren Yablonski with the BCTS said about 45 minutes into the three-hour open house. “I hear people are okay with the plan.” …Yablonski noted the area has logged back on the 1950s as well. “That’s what created these old trails out there,” Yablonski said, adding hiking trails are logging trails from the 1950’s.
Communities throughout British Columbia will have another opportunity to strengthen their wildfire resilience through the 2027 intake of the FireSmart Community Funding and Supports (FCFS) program. “This wildfire season reinforced that FireSmart works. We’re helping communities prepare for the 2027 wildfire season by engaging in active forest management, by building community resilience and by reducing the threat of wildfire,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. The FCFS program provides funding to local governments and First Nations to increase community resiliency by supporting the development and implementation of local wildfire-risk-reduction projects. The program is delivered by the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society and the Union of B.C. Municipalities, in partnership with the Ministry of Forests. “First Nations communities are disproportionately impacted by wildfire,” said Francyne Joe, executive director, First Nations’ Emergency Services Society. “FireSmart funding gives communities the tools to build their own capacity, in ways that fit their needs and priorities.” 
…The last recorded sighting of wild northern spotted owls in BC was in 2023… Spuzzum First Nation Chief Janice Kuester says the loss is deeply upsetting. …But that doesn’t mean there’s no hope. …Biologist and ecological consultant Jared Hobbs says re-establishing the species in B.C. is possible, “but we have to stop eroding the recovery options.” …An effort to have an emergency order issued for the owls failed in 2023 …Instead, the government said it was committed to collaborating with B.C. and Indigenous communities, in part through an ongoing federal recovery strategy. That plan identifies logging and species competition as the two main threats facing the owls, and sets a goal of restoring a stable population of 250 of the birds. Part of that goal involves introducing captive-bred spotted owls back into the wild. In B.C., the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program has roughly 40 spotted owls, and is working to breed and release more.
Nine graduate students in B.C. have been awarded scholarships through the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF), including three students in the Okanagan. Studying at the University of B.C. Okanagan (UBCO), Madeline Frazer, Peter Baker and Kara Atkinson were each awarded $10,000 to support applied research in wildlife and habitat stewardship, management, policy and decision-making. “Their projects reflect the breadth of the challenges and opportunities in wildlife management, from species-focused research on grizzly bears, elk, mule deer, caribou, snakes and birds to broader work on the impact of climate change on species, evaluating invasive species management, the impact of silviculture and forest harvest on ungulate, and the history of land management on ecosystems,” said Dan Buffet with HCTF.
BC Timber Sales (BCTS) is holding an open house in Spallumcheen next week regarding its controversial proposal to harvest trees on Mount Rose Swanson, a popular recreation area in the community. The open house will take place at the Township of Spallumcheen Municipal Hall Thursday, Sept. 10. …The provincial agency that manages 20% of BC’s public timber harvest is proposing a new cut block and road development in its Rose Swanson operating area, located within the Okanagan-Shuswap natural resource districts. The planned timber licence would cover 35.7 hectares, spread over 15 smaller patches ranging from one to 4.3-ha openings. About 14,500 cubic metres of timber would be harvested, with an estimated 95 per cent of the areas’ deciduous aspen and cottonwood trees left standing. …The proposed cut block and logging road has drawn criticism since it was made public several years ago. …An online petition to halt logging on the mountain received 24,000 signatures.
People embedding metal spikes in trees in the Walbran Valley area are not associated with an activist group trying to stop old-growth logging, a member of the Walbran Watchdogs says. The tree spikes were identified in a B.C. Supreme Court ruling as an example of the “irreparable harm” suffered by Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership, which has rights to log in the area. The ruling extended an injunction against blocking roads and impeding logging in the area. The injunction had been set to expire on Sept. 13, but was extended to the end of January 2028. In an August ruling, Justice H. William Veenstra found that hundreds of trees had been spiked in the area, leading to damaged logging equipment and the potential for “significant risk of injury or death” to fallers and sawmill workers. 
Back in 1979 the narrow parking spaces were there, as were the trees. And so was Bill Beese. He was 23 at the time, working as a summer student for the forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel. And while he couldn’t conduct his field work inside the provincial park, his boss said he and the other students should stop there anyway. Just to look. Or rather, look up. “We were just awestruck,” said Beese. …”The name Cathedral Grove is very apt.” Nearly 50 years later, Beese is one of the thousands of voters who helped Cathedral Grove beat 31 challengers over the CBC’s five-week competition to determine the top thing people like to get out of their cars and look, or look up at. “It is literally a roadside attraction. The highway goes right through this magnificent old-growth forest. And it’s very unique,” said Beese, who, as a forest ecologist and retired Vancouver Island University forestry professor, admits bias. 
As B.C. recovers from another intense wildfire season, debate is growing over how much and how quickly timber from burned forests can, and should be recovered. B.C. Conservative Party MLA and forestry critic Ward Stamer says the province is moving too slowly and leaving too much valuable timber behind. …The province says that, on average, about five per cent of timber in wildfire-impacted areas is currently being salvaged. Stamer wants that rate to rise to 25 per cent and says the province should make better use of existing roads and infrastructure to improve access. …B.C. Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar says a 25 per cent salvage rate isn’t realistic, pointing to challenges including access, operability and safety. Stamer disputes that argument. …Stamer says the province could be doing more to get additional burned timber to market. A study from Université Laval found that fire-affected wood can split and is vulnerable to insects and fungal attacks.
Hundreds of trees have been found embedded with metal spikes in Vancouver Island’s upper Walbran Valley, according to a court ruling that extends an injunction against a logging blockade there until early 2028. The BC Supreme Court court ruling says the blockade activity has included vandalism of logging equipment and tree-spiking incidents, in which two fallers had their chainsaws damaged beyond repair when they struck spikes on Aug. 18. Last Friday’s ruling says the loggers weren’t injured, but tree spikes carry “significant risk of injury or death”. Investigations found several hundred trees in Tsawak‑Qin Forestry’s cutblocks had been embedded with spikes, many with their heads cut off and bark placed over the top. …Tsawak‑Qin Forestry’s activities in the upper Walbran Valley have been disrupted by protesters opposed to old-growth logging since August 2025. Justice H. William Veenstra’s ruling says “the new evidence establishes that there continues to be irreparable harm suffered by Tsawak-Qin”.
Campfire prohibitions will be lifted across the Coastal Fire Centre starting Thursday (Sept. 3), as wildfire danger continues to decline following recent rainfall and cooler temperatures. Effective at noon, Category 1 open-fire prohibitions, which include campfires, will be rescinded throughout the Coastal Fire Centre – which encompasses the Island and B.C.’s South Coast. Fire no larger than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide, used for recreational or ceremonial purposes, will be allowed. At the same time, Category 2 and Category 3 open-fire prohibitions will also be lifted in the Haida Gwaii Forest District. Category 2 fires include backyard burning, while Category 3 fires include larger industrial burning activities. However, Category 2 and Category 3 fires will remain prohibited throughout the rest of the Coastal Fire Centre. Some activities and equipment also remain prohibited, including binary exploding targets, fireworks, burn barrels or burn cages, controlled air incinerators, air curtain burners, and carbonizers.
Patrick Tom has been helping a crew plant trees in his community of Wekweètì, N.W.T., since late August. His job is to ferry personnel and supplies to an area on the south shore of Snare Lake, which is being replanted after a wildfire. A crew of roughly 45 people flew into the Tłįchǫ community — approximately 300 kilometres northeast of Behchokǫ̀ — to plant 425,000 black and white spruce trees over the span of two weeks. It’s part of the Tlicho government’s plan to plant 13 million trees across its lands by 2030, with the help of federal funding. The initiative aims to restore ecosystems and boreal caribou habitat, while also creating local jobs. Tom worked for the Ekati diamond mine for the last 27 years. When it went into receivership in July, Tom said he was able to retire and he now has a pension.
The end of wildfire season is beginning to fizzle as the B.C. Wildfire Service is nudging open the gates a little bit and allowing category one fires today. The combination of current and future forecasts, recent precipitation and improved overnight recoveries has reduced the need to prohibit campfires in the Southeast Fire Centre region. “The B.C. Wildfire Service takes several factors into account before rescinding prohibitions,” noted the BCWS in a statement. “This includes balancing the needs of the public with the need to mitigate the risk of human-caused wildfires.” As of noon, category one campfires will be permitted throughout the Southeast Fire Centre — which includes the Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District and the Selkirk Natural Resource District — and all non-municipal land across the Regional District of Central Kootenay. However, there are rules involved. A category one campfire must be set in accordance with section 20 of the Wildfire Regulation…
Two B.C. companies are receiving provincial support to deploy clean-energy technology that strengthens backup power reliability for general aviation aircraft in B.C., replacing diesel generators with battery storage to keep critical services, such as wildfire response, medical transport and search and rescue, running during emergencies. With as much as $1 million being provided through B.C.’s Integrated Marketplace, Abbotsford-based Fast Air will deploy a mobile battery and solar power system developed by Richmond-based Holinova at the Abbotsford International Airport. …The Fast Air-Holinova project is the second project launched under Integrated Marketplace’s Forestry Innovation and Emergency Management Testbed. Announced in December 2025, the Forestry Innovation and Emergency Management Testbed enables testing of technologies that may generate insights and data that could be implemented throughout the province. The data could provide insights to help: improve emergency response; improve resilience; streamline emergency processes; and build efficiencies in the forestry sector.
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation provides that, except as otherwise determined by WorkSafeBC, an employer must ensure no worker is exposed to a substance exceeding the Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) prescribed by the 
The BC Forest History Association Speaker Series. Jordon Gabriel, from the Líl̓wat Nation will present: Learning From the Land: Indigenous Knowledge, Forestry, and the Path to Reconciliation. We will explore how Líl̓wat knowledge and contemporary forestry practices are being brought together through cultural burning, wildfire risk reduction, fuels management, community forestry, and collaborative stewardship. Our key takeaway is that reconciliation in forestry must prioritize Indigenous voices, knowledge, and authority in land stewardship to support healthier forests, safer communities, cultural continuity, employment, and responsibility to future generations. Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures Ltd. is a leading forestry management corporation within the Líl̓wat Nation in Mount Currie, British Columbia. Jordon Gabriel, from the Líl̓wat Nation, is one of the Forestry Technicians helping to ensure sustainable management of the Nation’s forests and the preservation of all cultural values for generations to come. Jordon worked with the BC Wildfire Services for 20 years.