Region Archives: Canada West

Business & Politics

Union members on strike at mid, north Island forestry operations

By Darron Kloster
Victoria Times Colonist
June 11, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

About 100 unionized forestry workers are on the picket line at operations on the mid and north Island, claiming their employer wants to contract out their work. United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 went on strike June 6, citing “significant concessions” demanded by La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership (LKSM Forestry). LKSM Forestry is the former Western Forest Products Mid-Island Forest operation now jointly owned by four First Nations of the Nanwakolas Council — the Tlowitsis, We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and K’ómoks First Nations — as well as Western Forest Products, which still owns the majority of the company. The Steelworkers union said one of the main concessions LKSM is demanding is the use of non-union contractors to do work currently done by union members on sites. That includes jobs performed by union members working for contractors on sites. …The union said it remains open to talks with the company that focus on resolving the outstanding issues.

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Workers strike at LKSM Forestry LP on Vancouver Island

By Adam Chan
Chek News
June 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

About 100 unionized workers on Vancouver Island have started a strike against their employer, La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership (LKSM Forestry). The union representing the workers, United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1-1937, says the workers went on strike on Friday, June 6, because of “significant concessions” being demanded by the company. One of the main concessions that the company is asking for is the ability to bring in non-union contractor workers to perform work currently handled by USW members, according to the union. The union says the strike comes after 93 per cent of unionized workers voted in favour of strike action in late March. …La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership is owned partly by four local First Nations, the Tlowitsis, We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and K’ómoks First Nations, which are all members of the Nanwakolas Council, and Western Forest Products.

Related release by the United Steelworkers: Strike commences at LKSM Forestry LP on Vancouver Island

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Fifty-five workers to be laid off at Chemainus Sawmill

By Justin Baumgardner
My Cowichan Valley Now
June 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

CHEMAINUS, BC — Fifty-five workers are scheduled to be laid off after a shortage of viable logs has forced production at the Chemainus Sawmill starting this month. According to North Cowichan mayor Rob Douglas, Western Forest Products has informed the municipality they intend to start curtailment of the jobs on Jun. 18. “The company has indicated the reason for the shutdown is due to their inability to find a viable supply of fiber,” Douglas says. “We don’t have a date as to when Western Forest Products is going to resume operations at the Chemainus Mill, but we hope it’s very short term.” …“I have reached out to the forest minister (Ravi Parmar),” he says. …Delays in permits and cutting fiber is a long-standing issue in BC, which has led to shutdowns and impacting production, but Douglas says he has been reassured by Parmar that the province is addressing the issue.

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West Fraser celebrates 50 years in Slave Lake, Alberta

The Lakeside Leader
June 8, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

SLAVE LAKE, Alberta — On Saturday, May 24, West Fraser’s Slave Lake Veneer plant celebrated its 50th anniversary with the community of Slave Lake. Several hundred community members, elected officials, Indigenous leaders, employees and retirees joined the company for a day of festivities, including lunch, bouncy castles, face painting and an opportunity to learn more about the history of Slave Lake Veneer’s operations. These directly employ 150 local residents, mostly in the mill, but also in the woodlands department, as well hundreds of more with contractors that supply the operation. …West Fraser acquired Slave Lake Veneer in 1999, as part of its acquisition of Zeidler Forest Products. At the time, the mill operated as both a veneer plant and a stud mill. In 2016, all lumber production was transferred to the newly-acquired sawmill in High Prairie. Today, veneer output is almost 13 times higher than when the plant opened in 1973.

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Sinclar Group Forest Products founders recognized with lifetime achievement award

By Ted Clarke
The Prince George Citizen
June 7, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bob Stewart & Ivan Andersen

 In 1962, Bob Stewart and Ivan Andersen became business partners as lumber wholesalers after years of working in the Sinclair Mills planer mill northeast of Prince George. …In the late 1960s Stewart and Andersen expanded their operations to lumber manufacturing when they teamed up with Apollo Forest Products in Fort St. James and the L&M Lumber in Vanderhoof, and in 1971 they opened the Nechako Lumber planer mill in Vanderhoof. Their continued success led to purchases of two Prince George sawmills — Lakeland Mills in 1973 and The Pas Lumber Company in 1987. …Stewart died in 2003, followed by Andersen in 2011 and on May 5, 2025 in a ceremony in Vancouver they were inducted into the Business Laureate BC Hall of Fame. The award recognizes the lifetime achievements of outstanding BC business leaders whose efforts have shaped our province and country. Sinclar president Greg Stewart says the principles of running a third-generation family business established by his grandfather Bob and Ivan Andersen continue to guide the company’s daily operations. 

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Yu wants Prince George to factor into provincial, federal economic plans

By Colin Slark
The Prince George Citizen
June 5, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Simon Yu

With BC Premier David Eby currently on a trade mission to Asia and Prime Minister Mark Carney looking to establish an east-west energy corridor, Prince George Mayor Simon Yu has hopes that his city will be part of the provincial and federal government’s plans to diversify the Canadian economy. Yu said it was great to see the premier head to Asia to visit some of the province’s biggest customers. …“We are looking forward to the premier perhaps re-establishing a BC trade mission in Asia in a much broader, prominent way,” he said. The mayor said he was also hoping that the premier promotes BC’s timber industry while in Asia. While the US will always be one of our biggest customers despite the ongoing trade disputes with the Trump Administration, Yu said having secondary customers in Asia would help stabilize the supply chain.

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As Liberals push prefab, B.C. researcher touts new construction methods

By Jami Makan
Business in Vancouver
June 4, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

As Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government plans billions in financing for builders of prefabricated homes, one expert says it’s a “significant amount of money” and “a very healthy kick-start” for the industry. The federal government’s Build Canada Homes (BCH) plan promises, among other things, more than $25 billion in financing to “innovative prefabricated home builders in Canada,” according to the Liberals’ website. Ramping up prefabrication could result in cheaper, faster and better-quality homes, said Tony Yang, professor of structural and earthquake engineering at University of British Columbia. “We are building too slowly right now,” he said. “We are lacking skilled workers on site.” The goal of prefab is to shift manufacturing from construction sites, which he called relatively inefficient, onto production lines that operate more quickly through repetition. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

UBC innovators unveil novel wood leather soccer ball at Expo 2025

By Poppy Philbrook
Capital Current
June 10, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

OSAKA, Japan – The buzz surrounding Vancouver’s role as one of 16 host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was at the centre of British Columbia Week in recent days at the Expo 2025 Canada Pavilion. …While preparations for the world-class sporting event accelerate, designers from the University of British Columbia’s Bioproducts Institute are concerned with the sustainability of soccer itself, unveiling a first-of-its-kind wood leather ball to an attentive crowd in the heart of the pavilion on June 4. …Created in the official size for junior soccer games, the wood leather ball not only closely aligns with Expo 2025’s overarching theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” but also highlights the value of one of BC’s largest and growing exports: wood products. …Although the ball is yet to be tested in play, Takagi considers the wood leather material far more durable than its bio-based counterparts.

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Kalesnikoff Opens North America’s First Mass Timber Pre-Fabrication and Modular Facility

Kalesnikoff Mass Timber
June 5, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

Castlegar, B.C. — Kalesnikoff Mass Timber formally opened their new 100,000 sq. ft. modular mass timber facility in Castlegar, B.C. today near the West Kootenay Regional Airport to expand their mass timber products for use in multi-story affordable and market housing, schools, workforce housing and other much-needed infrastructure. …The new facility complements Kalesnikoff’s existing Mass Timber operation in nearby South Slocan, adding new products and services including prefabricated wall panels, mass timber modules, trusses and other products designed and manufactured for clients’ unique needs and construction efficiency. “Our expanding line of mass timber products and expertise will help our current and future clients meet the need for cost-effective, efficient building design and construction that will create sustainable, comfortable, climate-resilient homes and buildings”, said Chris Kalesnikoff, Chief Operating Officer of Kalesnikoff Mass Timber.

Additional coverage in My Kootenay Now: Kalesnikoff opens North America’s first mass timber prefab facility

Castlegar News: Kalesnikoff officially opens $30M mass timber facility in Castlegar

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Forestry

State of Idaho lending fire crews to B.C., western Canada

By Steve Berard
Energetic City
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West, US West

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Teams of firefighters from Idaho are joining the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) efforts to combat the growing number of wildfires across the province. The Idaho Department of Lands — a government agency that oversees forestry practices and provides fire protection on state land in Idaho — announced on June 2nd that it’s sending fire crews to Canada. The news comes during a particularly intense period of B.C.’s wildfire season… According to a social media post that includes the announcement, the state of Idaho and the province of B.C. are both members of a group of regional governments called the Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact. Members of the compact have agreed to pool together their firefighting resources in times of need.  Other members in Canada include Saskatchewan, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Meanwhile, other American members of the compact include Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii, the newest member.

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From Optimism to Action: What Two Forestry Events Revealed About the Industry’s Future

By Norm Adams, President, PivotLeader Inc.
The Prince George Daily News
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

At the 2025 Council of Forest Industries (COFI) Convention in Prince George, the message coming from the stage was clear and consistent: British Columbia’s forestry sector, though challenged, was on the cusp of transformation. Words like resilience, partnership, and innovation echoed across the sessions. COFI’s President and CEO, Kim Haakstad, struck a hopeful tone in her remarks: “The forest sector is facing unprecedented challenges—but with collaboration and innovation, there is a path forward.” …Seven weeks later, I attended the Canada North Resources Expo, in Prince George. The contrast couldn’t have been more striking. This show, which typically draws the biggest names in logging and roadbuilding equipment, felt subdued. Gone were the sprawling displays from Caterpillar, Komatsu, Hitachi, Volvo, John Deere, and XCMG. These are big players – their absence was impossible to miss. …At COFI, we heard big ideas. At the Resource Expo, we saw who’s showing up—and who isn’t.

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Gibsons aims to plant 2,200 trees by 2045 as part of urban forest plan

By Jordan Copp
The Sunshine Coast Reporter
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Town of Gibsons has endorsed an ambitious urban forest plan to protect and expand tree canopy coverage across the municipality by 2045. The plan, developed by Diamond Head Consulting, was presented to council during the June 3 regular meeting, following community engagement and technical analysis. The urban forest plan establishes canopy cover targets of 31 per cent for urban areas and 39 per cent for greenfield development sites by 2045. Currently, Gibsons maintains 38 per cent overall canopy coverage, representing 160 hectares of tree canopy within the town’s 430-hectare(4.3km²) boundary. The plan notes that while greenfield areas will see reduced canopy due to expected development, strategic planting and protection measures can still achieve meaningful coverage.

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DR Systems Showcases Phoenix Connect at BC Community Forest Assn Conference: A Celebration of Community Forestry and Innovation

DR Systems Inc.
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Nanaimo, BC – DR Systems Inc. was proud to join the vibrant community of forestry leaders, land managers, and Indigenous partners at this year’s BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) Conference. Held in the heart of British Columbia, the event was a powerful celebration of local leadership, resilient communities, and collaborative forest stewardship. At our booth, the team connected with community forest representatives from across the province to showcase Phoenix Connect, our flagship SaaS platform designed for managing forest operations, spatial data, and regulatory reporting. With live demonstrations and one-on-one conversations, we heard firsthand how important it is to have software that’s as adaptable, user-focused, and community-minded as the people who use it. “The conversations we had reinforced why we do what we do – building tools that support sustainable forestry, strengthen partnerships, and make complex reporting more manageable,” said Heidi Walsh, Co-owner at DR Systems.

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Mission forestry turns profit to start 2025 with tariff, wildfire threat looming

By Dillon White
The Mission City Record
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Mission’s forestry department reported a net profit of $181,474 to begin 2025. Forestry director Chris Gruenwald presented the department’s quarterly report to council on June 2, with the department expected to remain profitable for the year. A net profit of $1,082,492 was forecasted for the quarter, per the report. “The results for the quarter were due to the lower volumes harvested compared to budget, as the department did not release the first timber sale of the year until late-January, as there was market uncertainty at the end of 2024/start of 2025,” the report reads. The department released a 24,000 m3 Hemlock/Cedar timber sale at the end of January, expected to generate $1.9 million in revenue. However,  Gruenwald notes that “uncertainty exists in the timber market these days” amid threats of new tariffs from the United States. Potential tariffs on softwood lumber increase the risk of market downturns, in addition to a previously expected increase in July.

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City of Powell River Council approves UBCM resolutions

By Paul Galinski
The Powell River Peak
June 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ron Woznow

City of Powell River councillors have adopted a resolution for the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ (UBCM) convention in September regarding forest harvesting. Councillor Cindy Elliott and mayor Ron Woznow put this resolution together. Woznow said it was an issue that came from meetings at a previous UBCM convention with the Truck Loggers Association. “Very simply put, the City of Powell River has probably lost about $7 million in revenues,” said Woznow. “That is the estimate of the reduction in revenue that Western Forest Products and other companies have experienced. …“The thing about the forest industry is that it actually creates wealth, as opposed to simply distributing wealth.” …The resolution states that UBCM call upon the provincial government and the minister of forests to take immediate steps to create regulatory certainty for planning and permitting the harvest of the full existing licensed annual allowable cut. The motion passed unanimously.

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New partnership will help detect, monitor wildfires in B.C.

By The Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
June 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ravi Parmar

A camera network that gives first responders information to support wildfire response, emergency management and public awareness is being expanded through a partnership between the Province and the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus (UBCO). “With this technology, we’re making strides in protecting communities from wildfires by predicting them before they happen. And better predicting them means keeping more families safe,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “I’m proud to work with UBCO and use its research to protect our communities from the threat of wildfire.” After a successful trial in 2024, the Province is investing $200,000 to expand the camera network throughout British Columbia. Early detection of wildfire plays a crucial role in reducing risks, lowering suppression costs and protecting communities. Using 5G technology, the cameras detect smoke from wildfires and provide real-time data to support evacuation planning, resource deployment and wildfire behaviour predictions.

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This wildfire season is going to be intense. Here’s what to expect

By Lou Bosshart
The University of British Columbia
June 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Canada’s wildfire season has had an early and intense start, with states of emergency declared in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and forecasts warning of severe conditions across central and eastern Canada. Wildfire smoke is already crossing borders, affecting millions. In this Q&A, wildfire experts Dr. Lori Daniels and Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, co-directors of the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, explain what’s driving early activity and how communities can prepare. Air quality expert Dr. Christopher Carlsten weighs in on health precautions. …”Many still believe wildfire “can’t happen here” but our climate and forests have changed. Spring starts earlier, forests dry out faster and they stay flammable longer. And because northern latitudes are warming faster than the global average, Canada is being impacted by extreme fires. Since 2017, over 7.3 million hectares have burned in B.C., more than twice the size of Vancouver Island”, said Lori Daniels.

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Okanagan Indian Band, Tolko Industries still cleaning up after White Rock Lake wildfire

By Darren Handschuh
Castanet
June 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Okanagan Indian Band is continuing efforts to clean up after the 2021 White Rock Lake wildfire. The OKIB is currently working with Tolko Industries on salvage harvesting operations in the Bradley Creek area, which was heavily impacted by the fire. The White Rock Lake fire destroyed thousands of hectares of land and numerous structures as it raged through the region. According to the OKIB June online newsletter, the “salvage work focuses on removing dead standing (fire-killed) timber to support ecological recovery and reduce wildfire risks, while protecting Syilx values and environmental standards.” …This salvage harvesting is part of OKIB’s long-term recovery plan for fire-affected areas. Removing fire-killed trees and replanting the area will help stabilize soils and reduce erosion, support water quality and wildlife habitat recovery and contribute to a healthier, more resilient forest ecosystem.

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B.C. First Nations return to traditional practices to reduce wildfire risk

By Ben Miljure
CTV News
June 5, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

As wildfire seasons seem to grow longer and more intense year after year, many B.C. First Nations are looking to the past for solutions to make their communities more fire resilient. In the northwest corner of the province, the Cheslatta First Nation has come under threat multiple times in recent years. “Almost half of Cheslatta’s territory has been burnt since 2010,” said Cheslatta forestry manager Logan Wilson. …Many First Nations utilizing cultural burns are working in collaboration with researchers at UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, who received a USD$780,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to study Indigenous practices of wildfire management and forest restoration. …The BCWS said it participated in 48 prescribed burns in 2024, altering more than 3,400 hectares of land, an area more than eight times the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Twenty-three of those burns were conducted in collaboration with First Nations.

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Stopping wildfires with trees: How thousands of aspen seedlings could help protect Whitehorse

By Andrew Hynes
CBC News
June 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Crystal To… is part of a small crew of tree planters who are slowly filling the Whitehorse South fuel break with aspen. It’s her first time doing the job. …The goal of the fuel break is to protect the capital city from wildfires by creating a natural barrier, removing all the highly flammable conifers in an 800-hectare area and replacing them with more fire-resistant aspens. The Yukon government began work on the fuel break in 2020, near the Mary Lake subdivision. It’s one of the first such projects in Canada, and the goal is to have it finished by 2032. The aspens are being planted by the thousands every summer. This year, 232,000 seedlings will be planted.

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B.C. cedes much of Nuchatlitz provincial park to Nuchatlaht First Nation

By Justine Hunter
Globe and Mail
June 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The B.C. government has quietly ceded control of a large portion of a provincial park off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in response to a precedent-setting court ruling on an Indigenous land claim. Public access to parts of Nuchatlitz Park is no longer assured, after the B.C. Supreme Court declared last year that the Nuchatlaht, a First Nation with 180 members, has proved Aboriginal title to 1,140 hectares of land on the north end of Nootka Island. …The lawyer for the Nuchatlaht says it is the first time parkland has been included in a title ruling from the courts. …The title lands include 320 hectares of old-growth forest in Nuchatlitz Park. …Tamara Davidson, B.C.’s Minister of Environment and Parks, declined to comment on the Nuchatlaht case. …Jack Woodward, the lawyer who represented the Nuchatlaht, said that the courts have set a precedent establishing that Aboriginal title can supersede park protections on Crown land. [A Globe and Mail subscription is required for full story access]

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West Fraser donates 1,200 trees to 108 Mile Ranch Greenbelt Commission

By Patrick Davies
Coast Mountain News
June 4, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Following fire mitigation efforts in and around the 108 Mile Ranch, a new generation of trees have been planted to restore the land. West Fraser 100 Mile donated 1,200 trees that were planted by treeplanters from Zanzibar Holdings Ltd. on behalf of the 108 Mile Ranch Greenbelt Commission. Greenbelt commissioner Chris Betuzzi said it’s all part of the commission’s work to secure the 108 Mile Ranch against future fire seasons and avoid a repeat of the 2017 Gustafsen fire, which burned parts of Walker Valley. As a registered forest technologist, he said helping manage the forest is a responsibility close to his heart. In May of 2024, Betuzzi said they carried out fire mitigation efforts in three areas along the Greenbelt, including Donsleequa Road, Qua Place and Gloinnzum Drive to reduce forest fuel in the event of a wildfire. Betuzzi said they had Tsi Del Del Enterprises Ltd come up to process the slash piles and fibre.

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Forest Practices Board to audit Interfor’s forestry operations near Castlegar

BC Forest Practices Board
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forestry planning and practices of Interfor Corporation on Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 3, starting Monday, June 9, 2025. TFL 3 is located within the Selkirk Natural Resource District, about 40 kilometres north of Castlegar, near Slocan. The licence area covers approximately 78,000 hectares of public land, with an annual allowable cut of approximately 80,000 cubic metres, and is managed by Interfor’s Castlegar division. …The audit will examine whether forestry activities carried out between June 1, 2023, and June 13, 2025, comply with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. Activities subject to audit include timber harvesting, road and bridge construction and maintenance, silviculture, wildfire protection and related operational planning. …Once the audit is complete, a report will be prepared. Any party that may be adversely affected by the audit findings will have a chance to respond. The board’s final report and recommendations will be released to the public and provincial government.

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Health & Safety

People urged to prepare as warming temperatures increase wildfire, drought risk

By Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
Government of British Columbia
June 9, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

With warmer, drier conditions expected to increase across B.C., people are advised to stay prepared for climate-related emergencies. …People are encouraged to prepare grab-and-go bags, create an emergency and evacuation plan, create an Emergency Support Services profile through their B.C. Services Card app and ensure they have renter’s or homeowner’s insurance for their property. …Warm and dry conditions are expected throughout the province this month, and with that comes an elevated risk of wildfire. Northeastern B.C. is continuing to experience prolonged drought and is expected to remain at high risk for wildfire this summer. …In addition to wildfire risk, the Province is also closely monitoring key indicators of drought risk, including snowpack. 

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Huge, self-driving trucks roll onto Canada’s most treacherous roads

By Anita Balakrishnan
The Logic
June 6, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Deep in the wilderness, a semi truck cab carves a path through the snow, slowing as it approaches a one-lane bridge. …The situation would be anxiety-inducing for a human, but this truck cab is driving itself. It’s using a system developed by NuPort Robotics, a Toronto-based autonomous-driving startup. It’s just a test run—but one day, Canada’s north could be criss-crossed with self-driving trucks hauling huge loads on dangerous roads. …Seasonal logging firms struggle to compete with oil and mining companies for trained drivers. …The company has been in talks with several forestry companies to try and drum up more business. They’re looking for help, he said, to relieve driver fatigue, determine which complicated maneuvers can be automated, and which, like strapping logs to trucks, must be done by humans. NuPort is also testing how the technology reacts to unexpected issues like a log falling into the road.

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BC Wildfire Service working to address mental health toll on firefighters

By Sarah Adrian
The Trail Times
June 5, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fighting forest fires has always been a physically demanding and dangerous job. But it can take a toll on firefighters’ mental health as well. In 2023, the deaths of six wildland firefighters in B.C. highlighted the importance of mental health, both for frontline responders and support staff. Wildland firefighters are challenged with stress and exhaustion, but the loss of colleagues heavily contributed to the mental toll on firefighters during the 2023 wildfire season, said Jessa Barber, a former wildland firefighter who is now a safety officer with the BC Wildfire Service. …BC Wildfire said it is being proactive, implementing policies and practices to support the mental health of its staff. …One of these practices is the New Recruit Boot Camp, which prioritizes educating recruits about the risks and dangers of being a wildland firefighter both physically and mentally. Ongoing support is provided to recruits.

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Man drowns after machinery falls into ocean at Crofton pulp mill

By Jeff Bell
Victoria Times Colonist
June 5, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP are investigating the drowning of a machinery operator in an industrial incident at the Crofton pulp mill on Wednesday. Police responded about noon to the Catalyst Pulp and Paper Mill after receiving a report that a piece of heavy equipment had fallen into the ocean with its operator trapped inside. Canadian Coast Guard divers attempted a rescue, but the 30-year-old man could not be revived. RCMP spokesperson Alex Bérubé said the B.C. Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC are both investigating what led to “this tragic outcome.”

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Forest Fires

Squamish wildfire grows to 14.4 hectares

By Alanna Kelly
The Squamish Chief
June 10, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The District of Squamish has declared a state of emergency as the Dryden Creek wildfire continues to burn out of control, prompting expanded evacuation alerts and a full campfire ban. The Squamish wildfire has reached 14.4 hectares. It still remains out of control. The District says that the increase in size reflects growth away from the community along a west-facing cliff. Tonight, there are 28 firefighters on the scene who are “working towards containment on the west and south flanks of the fire to prevent further spread, with good success.” Air tankers and helicopters continue to attack the blaze. The helicopters are going back and forth to Alice Lake to bucket water to the fire.

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B.C.’s major wildfires remain out of control, despite calmer day of wind

By Lauren Vanderdeen
CBC News
June 10, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Pocket Knife Creek

Crews fighting large B.C. wildfires may get a reprieve from harsh winds and temperatures Tuesday, but the major fires in the northeast of the province continue to grow out of control, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS). Fire information officer Kelly Desrosiers says much lower temperatures, higher humidity and the lack of wind are all expected to result in significantly less fire behaviour for the Kiskatinaw River wildfire Tuesday. The Kiskatinaw River fire, located nearly 60 kilometres southeast of Dawson Creek, has grown to more than 216 square kilometres. It has been designated as a wildfire of note, meaning the fire is highly visible or poses a potential threat to public safety. As of Monday afternoon, as many as seven buildings and mobile homes had been destroyed by the fire in the small community of Kelly Lake, B.C., home to about 70 people.

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Fire southwest of Sproat Lake doubles overnight

By Susie Quinn
The Alberni Valley News
June 10, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fire crews with B.C. Wildfire Service have made progress on a fire burning in central Vancouver Island despite the fire doubling in size overnight. The fire at the base of Nahmint Mountain, southwest of Sproat Lake, was initially estimated to be 10 hectares after it was discovered Sunday, June 8, 2025 and reported by a pilot with Vancouver Island Soaring Centre. The fire is listed on the B.C. Wildfire map as being on Beverly Main and it has grown to 23.5 hectares. “With support from helicopter bucketing, fallers and heavy equipment, ground crews are continuing to work on containing the fire between drainages on the northeast and southwest flanks,” a BCWS spokesperson noted. The fire is still considered out of control.

Additional coverage in Nanaimo News Now: Nahmint Mountain fire near Port Alberni, BC grows

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Squamish wildfire at five hectares

By Jennifer Thuncher
The Squamish Chief
June 9, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

In response to the Dryden Creek fire, as this wildfire is called, Squamish Fire Rescue said in a post late Monday night that the District’s emergency response team is working out of the Emergency Operations Centre, located at Fire Hall 1 in Valleycliffe. The out of control fire is located above the eastern end of Depot Road, in the north end of Squamish. It said the BC Wildfire Service has “actively and aggressively” attacked the wildfire thus far by air and with ground crews and would continue to late into the night, and will begin again early this morning. Aerial attack will also resume early Tuesday morning, the post said. Late last night the District of Squamish issued evacuation alerts to those living in properties at the east end of Depot Road, east of Highway 99 including the campground Mountain Fun Basecamp and at the end of Tantalus Road.

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Wildfire updates: Evacuation order issued for Blueberry Mountain area | Six Alberta forest areas in ‘extreme wildfire risk’

By Mackenzie Rhode and Ricky Leong
The Calgary Herald
June 9, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Smoke from wildfires in northern Alberta and northeastern B.C. reached Calgary this weekend, resulting in poor air quality in the city through the weekend and into Monday morning. Fire bans remain in effect for a large part of Alberta, including in all of Rocky View County, as six of the province’s forest areas are considered to be at extreme wildfire risk. An evacuation order for parts of the County of Grande Prairie was expanded again late Saturday after the Kiskatinaw River wildfire in B.C. crossed into Alberta Friday afternoon. …As of Monday night, there were 60 fires burning in the province, with 23 of them classified as out of control. More than 615,000 hectares have burned in Alberta so far in 2025. Fire personnel and aircraft from British Columbia, Yukon, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Washington State, Oregon and Idaho have arrived in Alberta to assist with battling out-of-control blazes.

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Crews responding to out-of-control wildfire on Vancouver Island

By Ethan Morneau
Chek News
June 8, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

BC Wildfire Service crews are responding to an out-of-control, 10-hectare blaze south of Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island and say it’s expected to spread. Gordon Robinson, Coastal Fire Centre information officer, tells CHEK News 18 firefighters, three helicopters and a response officer are on scene in the Beverly Main area, west of Port Alberni. The fire currently measures 10 hectares, reads information online. The blaze was discovered on Sunday – and as of around 2 p.m., it’s listed as “out-of-control,” meaning it’s “anticipated to spread beyond the current perimeter or control line. Robinson says the fire is believed to be human-caused because there hasn’t been any lightning in the area. Crews are trying to determine the cause, the BC Wildfire website says, adding that such investigations “often take time and can be very complex.”

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Drizzle in northern Manitoba not enough to quench wildfires as community leaders hope for downpour

By Lauren Scott
CBC News
June 8, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

©Canadian Armed Forces

As evacuees fleeing wildfires in northern Manitoba watched rainfall in parts of the province on Sunday, community leaders are warning the north needs heavier downpour to help firefighters on the ground. Lori Forbes, emergency co-ordinator for the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, said Sunday’s rain didn’t fall where it was needed most. “We did get the rain in The Pas but we need the rain in the north. We need the rain where the fires are to help the firefighters,” Forbes said. She said The Pas was about 100 kilometres away from the fire on Sunday afternoon. According to the province’s most recent fire bulletin on Sunday, the wildfire near Sherridon is more than 300,000 hectares in size and is still out of control. “The further north you went, the less rain there was,” Forbes said. The eight-degree temperatures are helping fire crews, she said, but it’s windy and the weather is “changing very quickly.”

Related coverage in Steinbach Online by Judy Peters: Eastern Manitoba wildfire remains largest in province as evacuation orders continue

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Rainfall dampens wildfire expansion in northern Saskatchewan, some evacuees returning home

By David Prisciak
CTV News
June 8, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Officials with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) say widespread rainfall has allowed a short reprieve for those fighting fires across the province’s north. In its daily briefing on Sunday, the SPSA reported minimal growth across its wildfires of note. “This rain was very much appreciated and needed. But we cannot slow down, and we’re not going to slow down,” SPSA President Marlo Pritchard explained. “This is the time where we can take advantage of this small window of opportunity. Gives us and our firefighter partners a small window of taking the fight directly to these fires while their intensity is lower.” As of Sunday afternoon, 24 wildfires in Saskatchewan were considered active. Of that total, three are considered contained, 12 are ongoing assessment, protecting values are the priority of three fires and six are considered not contained.

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B.C. wildfire fighters experience slight reprieve, but more wind on horizon

By Akshay Kulkarni
CBC News
June 7, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BC Wildfire Service

The B.C. Wildfire Service said that firefighters experienced a slight reprieve battling one of its most concerning blazes on Saturday, and it was seeing stable skies in the parched northeast corner of the province. However, another cold front is expected to bring high winds starting Sunday night into Monday, and conditions remain hot and dry across B.C. In addition…the Alaska Highway (Highway 97) continues to be threatened by a raging wildfire. For the Kiskatinaw River wildfire in the northeast on the B.C.-Alberta border, however, firefighters say that forecasted high winds overnight on Friday did not materialize. “We had calmer winds overnight than we expected and there was very minimal fire behaviour,” fire information officer Karley Desrosiers said Saturday morning. “So limited growth [is] expected.” The blaze covered an area of 130.6 square kilometres as of Saturday afternoon, and it has resulted in evacuation orders in the community of Kelly Lake.

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Nearly half of northern Alberta community destroyed as wildfires flare

By Wallis Snowdon
CBC News
June 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

As Albertans forced out by wildfires are being allowed to return home, other evacuees are learning their homes have been lost to the flames. During what has proven to be a devastating wildfire season across western Canada, the remote community of Chipewyan Lake has been among the hardest hit in Alberta in terms of damage to infrastructure. Close to half of the buildings in the small community, nestled in the boreal forests of northern Alberta about 450 kilometres north of Edmonton, have been destroyed. A wildfire swept through the remote community last week, hours after it was evacuated. Questions remain about how and when the community can rebuild, and where its 100 residents will live during the long recovery ahead. Chipewyan Lake lost some of its most critical community buildings, local emergency management officials with Bigstone Cree Nation and the MD of Opportunity No. 17 said Tuesday.

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Saskatchewan wildfires have already burned 900K hectares of forest so far this year

By Colleen Silverthorn and Hannah Spray
CBC News
June 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Wildfires continue to rage out of control in northern Saskatchewan, and have now burned almost 1,000,000 hectares of the province’s forest so far this year and forced thousands of people from their homes. “Based on the estimates we’re looking at over 900,000 hectares in the province so far this year,” Steve Roberts, vice-president of operations with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), said in an update Thursday when asked how much forest had burned this year so far. For context, the entire province of Prince Edward Island is about 568,000 hectares. New fires are starting daily, according to the SPSA. Three new fires started Thursday alone, and the massive Shoe fire in the Narrow Hills was estimated to be about 471,000 hectares in size as of late Thursday morning. As of Thursday afternoon, there were 27 fires burning in Saskatchewan, six of them not contained, according to the SPSA.  The fires continue to pose new threats daily.

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Hundreds from Manitoba First Nations evacuate to Niagara Falls amid blazing wildfires

By Alex Arsenych and Aarjavee Raaj
CTV News
June 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Hundreds of Manitoba First Nations are seeking refuge in Niagara Falls, hundreds of kilometres away from home, as fires continue to ravage the Prairies. Though thecentral province is expecting some precipitation across northern Manitoba, the provincial government said it will be insufficient to supress the wildfires, as the forecasted rain comes with a risk of lightning. The Canadian Red Cross registered thousands of evacuees—more than 14,300—having to flee their homes because of the active fires, a figure that includes roughly 2,400 households forced to leave First Nations lands. The Manitoba Keewainowi Okimaknak (MKO) said on May 28 that around 17,500 people across six First Nations communities were trying to get to safety. With the province declaring a national emergency, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced 1,000 rooms have been made available to those who have been displaced from their homes after First Nations leaders asked for more space to be made available.

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Forest History & Archives

The Iceberg Aircraft Carrier That Almost Was: Alberta’s Forgotten Wartime Wonder

By Nerissa McNaughton
The Cochrane Eagle
June 10, 2025
Category: Forest History & Archives
Region: Canada, Canada West

©Wikipedia by Craig Talbert

Under Jasper’s Patricia Lake lies the remains of one of history’s most peculiar wartime experiments. Project Habakkuk was an audacious idea born during World War II, as a solution for Allied forces battling German U-boats. Though it never came to fruition, its legacy remains a chapter in Alberta’s history. Project Habakkuk was a secret Allied experiment launched in the early 1940s under the guidance of British inventor Geoffrey Pyke to build an aircraft carrier unlike any other—not from metal or wood, but from ice. Specifically, it would utilize pykrete, a blend of 85% water and 15% wood pulp. This strange new material was stronger than concrete, resistant to bullets and torpedoes, and melted significantly slower than traditional ice. …The final vessel would need 300,000 tons of wood pulp, 35,000 tons of insulation, and a staggering amount of steel for reinforcement. These challenges … led to the project’s cancellation in late 1943.

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