David Elstone
Past calls for power by the BC government drove the expansion of energy production by the private sector (IPPs). Many projects including pulp mill power, run-of-river and biomass projects were built over the last two decades to sell power to BC Hydro. However, a strong lobby campaign against IPPs led to dramatic policy change… and as a consequence, the government ended its standing call for power in 2020. This all occurred despite awareness of growing energy demand, and the province did not have enough capacity. . …Now with the goals to electrify the province and net zero emissions for LNG, the government has once again turned to IPPs for solutions. How does this shift in energy policy serve as a comment about forestry?
Forest product markets may be tough now, but according to the UN FAO’s forest sector outlook to 2050, consumption of lumber, panels, and pulp will increase by 37% beyond 2020. …Unfortunately, just like the misguided end to the calls for power back in 2020… the Old Growth Strategic Review has brought about new and pending policy that will reduce our ability to manage forests for our needs. We should be expanding active forest management which would address our very Canadian reality that harvesting (and thinning) actually helps protect forests (and our communities) by reducing wildfire intensity as well as carbon emissions from forest fires. …It took three years for government to come to its senses on energy. How long will it take the government to do the same on forestry?
Summer 2023’s record Interior blazes are serving as a reminder about the need to spend more to prevent and mitigate wildfires. But the province must also rethink its methods, according to a June report by an independent government and industry watchdog. “Wildfire risk reduction or restoration treatments can be costly, and there is currently little funding to support landscape treatment outside the wildland urban interface,” said the Forest and Fire Management in B.C. report from the Forest Practices Board (FPB). …“If the people of B.C. want to co-exist with fire, there is an urgent need to act now at a pace and scale that will achieve landscape resilience,” the report said. …South of the border, the Biden administration has already turned its attention toward landscape fire management. The 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy is part of an US$8.25-billion program to treat 20 million acres.
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board has released an investigative report about the management of habitat for species at risk under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA). The report examines the BC government’s use of tools available under FRPA to protect habitat for species at risk and forest licensees’ compliance with legal requirements. In this investigation, the Board looked at a sample of areas where legal measures are in place for habitat protection and found that operational-level forest planning and practices were consistent with those legal requirements. “Where government sets clear, legal objectives, licensees comply,” said Bruce Larson, vice chair of the Forest Practices Board. “However, the legal tools available to government aren’t always being used, and we found a lack of transparency in how government makes decisions about balancing timber supply and habitat protection.” Additionally, the Board found that the process of listing species to enable the use of FRPA tools is slow and cumbersome, and has not kept pace with the current risk status of species in BC.
For cancer to be considered a compensable consequence of a traumatic injury, WorkSafeBC policy sets out five criteria that must be met. Our Policy, Regulation and Research Department is releasing a discussion paper with proposed amendments to update this policy to reflect current medical literature. The discussion paper and information on how to provide feedback can be found here: 
The City of Mission has made the decision to close its municipal forest and surrounding areas due to an “extreme wildfire risk.” Starting Thursday, Aug. 24, the Mission Municipal Forest, which includes Stave West Forest and Recreation Area, Hunter Road, Red and Bear mountains, and the BC Hydro boat launch will be closed to the public. Only vehicles travelling to designated and reserved campsites will be permitted in the area. “As we have all witnessed in recent days, the risk of wildfire in interface areas has never been more real and present,” said Mission Mayor Paul Horn. “Here in Mission, our forest constitutes literally half of our community and countless people would be displaced or adversely affected by a wildfire. Indeed, this area provides both drinking water and electricity to many local homes, so any harm to the area would have a long-lasting effect.”
Wildfires threatening communities in the Northwest Territories were kept at bay Wednesday as politicians continued grappling with “astronomical” costs of fighting the blazes and how to eventually get people home. The N.W.T. government said in its wildfire update that fires encroaching on the capital of Yellowknife, along with the communities of Hay River and Fort Smith, remained a threat but had not moved closer. Fires were within 15 kilometres of Yellowknife, within eight kilometres of the hub city of Hay River and four kilometres from Fort Smith on the Alberta boundary. Crews continued to water bomb the fires and dig barriers down to the forest’s dirt floor to rob the fires of fuel. There were 237 active fires menacing the region. More than two-thirds of the 45,000-plus residents who call the N.W.T. home are living in evacuation centres and hotels as far away as Calgary and Winnipeg.
The BC Wildfire Service says its crews captured a fire tornado on video this past week near the Downton Lake wildfire, west of Lillooet. In the video, a swirling vortex can be seen twisting above a lake as the mainland burns behind it. The service says it happened at Gun Lake on Aug. 17. The phenomenon, also called a “fire whirl,” is described as “vertically oriented, intensely rotating columns of gas and flame.” It was said to be caused by a cold front that combined with the intense wildfire heat from the Downton Lake blaze. “This was a significant drop, 20C lower than the day prior to the cold front. With this combination of conditions and fire behaviour, fire intensity was more extreme during this overnight period, reaching intensities that hadn’t been seen even during the day,” the service said. The BC Wildfire Service adds tornados like this are incredibly rare and unusual.
