When you ask a child what they think about forest fires, they tend to answer in one of two ways. Eyes wide and a slight look of fear – falling into the “afraid of fire” category. The other is eyes wide and piqued interest – falling into the “fascinated by fire” category. These are the two sides of fire – the good and bad aspects of a natural, if sometimes dangerous, phenomenon. That’s why it’s so important to teach children about both the good and bad of wildland fire, and the differences between “pure” wildfire and managed or “prescriptive” fire. Because while there are definite dangers related to the extreme wildfire events we’re seeing more frequently (human-caused or climate-change driven), there are also notable benefits of fire as a landscape management tool. Fire is a natural event in many forest ecosystems. …
When you introduce children to nature through PLT Canada activities, they’ll learn how to think, not what to think, about the environment. Collaborative, inquiry-based learning uses nature to teach students about math, science, language arts, social studies, economics, art, and even giving back to the community.
Wildfire management is of critical importance. In many cases, contemporary landscapes have been altered from their natural condition due to a variety of factors including decades of fire suppression causing a build-up of fuels to unnatural and non-historical levels. …As land managers, our opportunity to make a difference is through active fuel management to reduce potential fire behaviour. As such, it is imperative that we have the best available information when making management decisions.
Interest in the present and future of BC’s forest industry has never been higher, and neither have the stakes. The current drop in harvest levels due to insects, fire, market conditions and new policies extends beyond what could have been expected. There is an urgent need for collaboration on solutions across government, Indigenous and local communities, workers, and companies. To navigate the transition now happening in the BC forest sector, new partnerships are taking shape, with industry and First Nations leaders working together to stabilize fibre supply and attract the investment that can help build a more predictable and sustainable path forward. Join us as Laura Jones, President & CEO of the Business Council of BC moderates a panel of industry leaders, with Sean McLaren, President & CEO, West Fraser; Steven Hofer, President & CEO, Western Forest Products; Dallas Smith, President, Nanwakolas Council; Robert Dennis Sr., Former Chief Councillor, Huu-ay-aht First Nations; and Nick Arkle, CEO, Gorman Group.
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023. EBITDA from continuing operations was negative $3.5 million for the quarter and negative $25.8 million for the year, compared to EBITDA of $2.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and $46.7 million for the year. We generated net income of ($30.6) million or ($0.77) per share in 2023. …Our lumber production was 155.8 million board feet in 2023, reflecting an annualized operating rate of 65%. Lumber production was impacted by a reduction in our operating schedule to a one-shift basis for a twelve-week period beginning in October to address unsustainable lumber inventory levels. …Our Power Plant sold 177.6 GWh of electricity under our EPA with BC Hydro in 2023, representing approximately 80% of targeted operating rates. 
Vancouver is ramping up its commitment to sustainable construction with a new set of incentives aimed at promoting mass timber buildings. These incentives, developed through collaboration with stakeholders, will be closely monitored and adjusted based on real-world feedback over the next two years. Among these benefits is a new rezoning incentive that will offer additional height and floor area for mass timber buildings in the following types of buildings: Buildings in areas that allow 8 to 11 storeys can qualify for two additional storeys; and Buildings in areas that allow 12 or more storeys can qualify for three additional storeys. A new incentive in the Zoning & Development By-law will see an increase in the permitted height for mass timber, along with additional support at the pre-application stage. Mass timber, a product of B.C.’s thriving industry, offers structural integrity with lower embodied emissions compared to concrete. 
…dozens of the fires whose smoke darkened North America’s skies last year are still burning — with some smouldering beneath layers of snow. These so-called “zombie fires” are a sign of a grim new normal that’s wreaking havoc even in far northern countries like Canada: A fire season that almost never ends. B.C. had 90 zombie blazes still burning as of mid-March, holdovers from last year’s record fire season, while Alberta started the year with 64 fires carried over from 2023 — more than 10 times the five-year average. As spring temperatures melt snow and uncover land parched by drought, those fires and new ones are poised to flare up, posing a fresh threat to Canada’s forests, not to mention the world’s atmosphere. …This year, with 71 per cent of Canada abnormally dry or in drought in February and swaths of the country as much as 5 degrees warmer than normal, governments and companies are bracing for a repeat. 
Message from Executive Director Steve Kozuki: 2024 funding and projects
Once a year, the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit brings together wildfire practitioners from all over BC and beyond. With speakers and workshops, we explore how to make BC homes, communities, and the landscape more wildfire resilient. The upcoming summit will take place in Prince George on April 20-24, 2024. Our theme for this year’s Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit is Recover, Rebuild, Prepare. The Summit will kick off with two days of training for firefighting professionals, followed by a three-day conference, where we’ll explore the lessons learned from 2023, along with the latest research, technologies, best practices and other information to help regions and communities prepare for the upcoming wildfire season. We look forward to seeing you in April as we work together to make communities across British Columbia more wildfire resilient.
Natural gas made its debut in the City of Vancouver over a century ago… Today, it’s the primary way B.C. powers its buildings, and a major problem for B.C.’s pursuit to cut its emissions by 40 per cent in a mere six years. …Fortis has its own plan to cut pollution while keeping the gas lines flowing. The company’s “Clean Growth Pathway” projects a scenario where growing appetites for gas and electricity can coexist by supercharging its supply of “low-carbon gases” like renewable natural gas, hydrogen and syngas, a type of gas produced from non-fossil sources via thermal conversion. …Fortis also has plans to use syngas, likely to be produced from wood, to bolster its supply. …Syngas can’t be delivered into pipelines like RNG, but it can be used directly in some industrial facilities, like a lumber mill that uses wood-produced syngas to power a pulp mill next door, for example.
Bodies and minds are just as affected by climate change as sea ice and forests, says University of Alberta scientist Sherilee Harper. “Climate change impacts everything we care about,” she said. “It’s not just an environmental issue.” That’s why Harper, along with 30 or so colleagues from disciplines as wide-ranging as economics and epidemiology, have banded together into what she calls Canada’s first university hub to shift the view of climate change from an environmental problem to a threat to human health. “The hub is about helping people see that every climate change decision is a health decision,” said Harper. …Wildfire smoke, which last summer gave Canada some of the worst air quality on the globe. …There are mental health impacts as well, from the acute stress suffered by those forced to flee by flames. …Such hubs already exist in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, Harper said.
