Jason Krips
The wildfires that swept through Jasper National Park in 2024 were devastating — but they weren’t unpredictable. They were the foreseeable result of years of policy choices: the decision to leave forests untouched, to restrict active management, and to allow risk to build in the name of preservation. Alberta’s forests are disturbance-driven — they rely on natural events like wildfire to renew, diversify, and maintain ecological balance. But over the past century, we’ve suppressed these disturbances to protect communities, infrastructure and wildlife. Without fire, forests don’t regenerate naturally. And without policy tools that allow for active interventions like harvesting, we’re left with dense, aging stands vulnerable to fire and pests. Now, in 2025, we face an urgent question: will we continue down the same path, or will we modernize our approach to forest management — even in places long considered off-limits, like national parks?
…Our members don’t operate inside the park, but they do operate next to it, and what happens within the park’s boundaries doesn’t stay there. …In 2017, we warned that aging forests, pine beetles, and hot, dry summers were creating a perfect storm. In 2024, that danger became reality. …We need a national parks policy to reflect this reality. It should encourage science-based, ecologically sensitive management tools like thinning, selective harvesting, and prescribed fire across the entire park — tools that reduce fuel loads and restore healthier forest structures. Beyond parks, we also need to revisit legislation like the Species at Risk Act. In Alberta, this law currently prevents management in large areas of older forest, ironically putting caribou and other species at greater risk when those forests inevitably burn. …Canada’s forests, inside and outside of parks, are among our greatest national assets. But if we want to protect them, we need to manage them.
Additional coverage in the Rocky Mountain Outlook, by Glen Grossmith: LETTER: In support of rethinking forest management “It’s encouraging to see attention drawn to the real, actionable strategies that can make a difference in the face of escalating wildfires.”
CASTLEGAR, BC — No one was injured in a fire at Kalesnikoff Lumber this afternoon, but damage is described as “significant.” Tarrys Fire Chief Greg Patterson said five fire departments responded to the call at about 1 p.m. and spent three hours on the scene. The sawmill’s own fire brigade did their own initial attack, which was “a great benefit.” The cause was a fan bearing that overheated in a mechanical room at the southeast corner of the mill, Patterson said. Radiant heat spread the fire into walls. …“There’s definitely some significant damage to the mill, but things that can be repaired and replaced, and the structure itself is still sound.” …Castlegar provided aerial apparatus to give firefighters the height they needed to attack the fire. Patterson said Kalesnikoff is assessing the damage, but he didn’t think that it would prevent the mill from continuing to operate.
British Columbia’s forestry leaders offer a mix of praise and caution following the announcement of federal aid for Canada’s lumber industry. While both welcomed the support, they emphasized the urgent need for fiber access and resolving the US trade dispute. B.C. Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar called the federal funding package “really good news” and a long-overdue show of federal support for a sector that has long felt sidelined in Ottawa. …Parmar emphasized that B.C., as the world’s second-largest exporter of softwood lumber, must receive a proportional share of the funding to modernize its mills and build new global partnerships. …B.C. Conservative forestry critic Ward Stamer, welcomed the funding as a positive sign of federal commitment but warned that the underlying problems plaguing B.C.’s forestry industry remain unaddressed. …“It shows the federal government understands how important the forest industry is not just to B.C., but to the whole country,” said Stamer.
VICTORIA — BC’s minister of jobs and economic growth is urging the federal government to stand firm and “negotiate hard” when trying to find a solution to tariffs imposed by President Trump. …He said he believes Carney and Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc are taking the right approach, “which is keeping their head down… and not getting distracted by the day-to-day swings of the president of the United States.” He said he would also highlight the importance of the softwood lumber industry for BC, which is just as crucial as the auto industry is to Ontario. …Both Eby and Kahlon have repeatedly argued that the long-running softwood lumber dispute with the United States should be part of a larger deal. Brian Menzies, executive director of the Independent Wood Processors Association, said he is “not very optimistic” that a future deal would also resolve the softwood dispute.
BURNABY, B.C. – The United Steelworkers union (USW) District 3 and the USW Wood Council are calling on the federal government to take urgent action in response to the latest escalation in the softwood lumber trade dispute. Following the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to increase anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports to 20.56%, the USW is demanding immediate support for forestry workers and communities across the country. …“Our prime minister says softwood lumber is a priority in trade talks, but what forest workers need now is action,” said Scott Lunny, USW Western Canada Director. …In addition the USW is calling for a comprehensive support package for forest workers, including wage subsidies, loan guarantees for affected businesses and other targeted resources to support provinces, regional and local communities to sustain critical infrastructure and services through this unprecedented uncertainty.
In British Columbia’s forestry sector, logging and trucking businesses are beginning to take a closer look at how they manage and report fuel use. While the Motor Fuel tax rules themselves haven’t changed, recent enforcement has prompted many operators to reassess long-standing practices — particularly when it comes to using coloured fuel in mixed on- and off-highway operations. For businesses that rely on marked fuel in remote areas or cross between forest roads and public highways, assessments are surfacing more frequently and creating uncertainty around compliance. If you’ve received a notice — or aren’t sure whether your operations could be affected — there are steps you can take to reduce the impact and protect your business. …Increased enforcement of the B.C. Motor Fuel Tax rules has created a layer of complexity that many forestry businesses weren’t prepared for. …the consequences of misunderstanding the rules, especially around fuel eligibility, have become more serious.
Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl sent an open letter to Premier David Eby, calling for immediate action to address issues within B.C.’s coastal forestry sector. Dahl warns continued inaction could result in further mill closures, job losses and the collapse of the coastal forestry industry. According to Dahl, coastal harvest volumes have dropped by over 40 per cent since 2019, with more than 5,400 direct forestry jobs lost since 2022. The 2025–26 budget projects a harvest of 32 million cubic metres … an estimated $275 million in lost revenue. The mayor says Premier Eby pledged to “protect jobs and the economy” when reshuffling his cabinet and says “those words ring hollow for thousands of coastal forestry workers watching their industry collapse—… from policy paralysis and regulatory misfires.” Dahl argues the crisis is not caused by … internal delay. “When harvest approvals that once took six months now take two years or more, that’s not a tariff issue—it’s a made-in-B.C. problem,” Dahl says.
VICTORIA — The Council of Forest Industries wrote a letter to the New Democrats earlier this month, outlining more than a dozen proposals to rescue a struggling industry. “B.C.’s forest industry is in crisis,” wrote COFI President Kim Haakstad in the July 14 letter to Forests Minister Ravi Parmar. “Fibre availability is at historic lows, permitting systems are gridlocked, and investment is retreating in the face of prolonged uncertainty. The risk is not gradual decline — but accelerated facility closures, job losses, and the permanent erosion of forest industry capacity.” Haakstad was responding to Premier David Eby’s announcement of a “major project” to restore the industry in a speech to this year’s COFI’s convention. …I asked the government last week for a response to the proposals set out in the COFI letter. I got back a general statement from Parmar, which pretty much brushed aside the notion of a crisis in the industry.
A new report warns the impacts on B.C. 
BC’s forestry sector would have been brought to its knees Friday by new American duties on Canadian softwood lumber, if it wasn’t already flat on its back from being hammered by years of provincial government policies. …But even before the new duties, B.C.’s forestry sector was in a crisis. Annual harvest volumes are down by tens of millions of cubic metres, lumber production and exports have shrunk dramatically, export revenues have fallen, thousands of jobs have been lost, and dozens of mills have been curtailed or shuttered. The industry has blamed various BC NDP policies, including new old-growth logging deferrals… and extraordinarily long permitting delays. …If New Democrats are serious about saving the industry from ruin, now would seem to be the time to shelve the never-ending reviews and actually do something. The government could spin a pivot to pro-forestry policies not as a retreat, but as a made-in-BC response to American trade aggression.
Canada’s first commercial carbon capture cement facility is now under construction in Mississauga Ont., backed by $10 million in federal funding. The project is part of the country’s effort to reduce industrial emissions. The project, led by Calgary-based startup Carbon Upcycling in partnership with Ash Grove Cement, aims to capture carbon dioxide from cement production and turn it into a low-carbon material that can replace part of traditional cement. Minister Evan Solomon, … said “These collaborative projects supporting our climate goals and enhancing our global competitiveness”. The facility will use Carbon Upcycling’s technology to mix captured CO2 with steel byproducts like slag to create a powder similar to cement used in construction. Carbon Upcycling CEO Apoorv Sinha said the system could reduce emissions from cement by up to 40%. …Sinha said the new facility will store up to 150 kilograms of carbon dioxide in every tonne of low-carbon cement it produces.
Above average spending on Yukon wildfires is in the forecast due to rising costs of fuel, aircraft, vehicles, food and fire retardant, Yukon wildfire officials told reporters during a July 30 briefing. Officials indicated more spending doesn’t necessarily mean more fires; it relates to higher costs in general. “The cost of fuel is going up. The cost of aircrafts are going up. The cost of vehicles is going up. Fire retardant, which we used over a million litres of, has almost doubled in price in the past several years. Food for catering, for feeding all these crews. Obviously, the cost of food has gone up,” director of Yukon Wildland Fire Management Devin Bailey said at the mid-season briefing. “As everything gets more expensive, we’re going to see more expensive responses during fire season.”
Gibsons council is renewing its push for stronger watershed protections and clearer oversight of forestry operations, following a staff report on 
…The pressure to balance local benefits and profitability is something community forests must continuously navigate. A 
Years of drought combined with persistent wildfire, some of it burning underground over winter, are causing forests in B.C.’s north east to fall down. Having had the roots and organic soils that had held them up burned away these often green trees now form a dense ground fuel load for future fires. The fallen trees also form a jack-straw of branches and boles that will act as an abatis in the face of fire crews. This has fire specialists and ecologists in the Fort Nelson Fire Zone worried. “With this fuel type, another concern is the multi-year impacts of having this much fuel on the ground,” says Eric Kopetski BCWS Fire Behaviour Analyst. The Fort Nelson Fire Zone has been dealing with drought and fire for years with the Fort Nelson Complex now covering 4 million hectares including 25 fires and 350,000 hectares burned this year. Distance, terrain and fire tenacity already pose challenges to fire crews. 
As the B.C. Day long weekend approaches, people are encouraged to stay informed about wildfire conditions, be prepared and plan travel. Warming summer temperatures and ongoing drought mean much of British Columbia is at heightened risk of wildfire, even after recent cooler temperatures and rain. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has forecast hot temperatures this week in B.C., with heat warnings currently in place for parts of the province. People are encouraged to prepare for hot summer weather. To access the Province’s PreparedBC extreme-heat preparedness guide, 
A wildfire on Vancouver Island is threatening Douglas-fir trees in Cathedral Grove, located on the western shoreline of Cameron Lake. The old-growth forest is filled with gigantic 800-year-old trees… The out-of-control Wesley Ridge wildfire was discovered on July 31 and is now 511 hectares in size. The Regional District of Nanaimo issued an evacuation order on August 2, which affected nearly 400 properties in the area around Cameron Lake, about 25 kilometres west of Parksville. …The fire has grown rapidly over the weekend as it looms over Highway 4, which remains open for the time being. Crews are trying to push it back, even using night vision so they can battle the blaze 24 hours a day. Emelie Peacock with the BC Wildfire service says, “we currently have 142 personnel responding to this wildfire, which includes 65 firefighters, 2 followers, and roughly 75 structure protection specialists”. …The fire is suspected to be human-caused … investigation is still in its preliminary stages.
