Region Archives: Canada West

Froggy Foibles

Photos: Have you ever seen a ‘B.C. Toothpick’?

By Brendan Kergin
Vancouver is Awesome
August 21, 2023
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver’s massive growth came thanks, in a big part, to the lumber that could be produced by harvesting the trees that grew in the area. Trees from the area were huge compared to what grew pretty much anywhere in the world; California has the biggest trees in the world now, but Metro Vancouver had taller ones at one point. And the quality of the wood was well-known; for example, during WWI lumber from the area was an important part of the war effort to build planes. In the early days of the city some of the biggest exports, literally, were B.C. Toothpicks. This was the ironic nickname given to massive pillars of wood. At 3 feet by 3 feet by 60 feet they were about the height of a five- or six-story building. A postcard was even printed of the massive timbers on a train.

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Business & Politics

Trudeau makes ‘specific commitments’ to the Northwest Territories following criticism by premier

The Canadian Press in the National Post
August 28, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Justin Trudeau & Caroline Cochrane

After saying last week she was angry Northerners don’t receive the same services from the federal government as people in the rest of Canada, Northwest Territories Premier Caroline Cochrane says the prime minister made “specific commitments” to address the issue this weekend when they met to discuss firefighting efforts. Cochrane thanked him for the federal support the territory has received. … She said Trudeau made several commitments, which included speeding up the Employment Insurance process for N.W.T. residents and providing an advance under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements to aid with cash flow. He also committed to collaborating with the territory on plans for possible air evacuations of communities without road access, Cochrane said, as well as to prioritize the development of road infrastructure, enhancing satellite redundancy and assisting the N.W.T in addressing the impacts of climate change.

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Demand grows for Canadian-made water bombers as De Havilland aims to build new ‘Super Scoopers’

By Chris Varcoe
The Edmonton Journal
August 23, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfires continue to burn across Western Canada, other parts of North America and around the world this summer, increasing the need for planes that can attack the flames from the skies. For De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, interest in its new water bomber is increasing as the Calgary-based company prepares to launch its program to build an amphibious aircraft, the DHC-515 Firefighter, in Alberta. European countries, which signed a letter of intent last year to acquire 22 of the newly designed planes, bumped up their order by two because of more demand from France, while other jurisdictions have also made inquiries. “We do know that there’s a significant demand globally for the aircraft,” said company spokesman Neil Sweeney. At De Havilland, the new amphibious planes will be designed to refill their tanks in a dozen seconds by scooping up water from lakes, rivers and oceans, instead of landing at an airport after each fire-suppression trip.

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B.C. wine sector readies for worst-ever year for forest fire smoke

By Glen Korstrom
Business in Vancouver
August 22, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Jake Oates

B.C. wine industry business owners are facing what is likely to be the worst year many have seen for forest fire smoke. This comes as production is also crimped by a colder than normal winter that stunted vines. No winery is yet reporting major damage to property… but Celista Estate Winery owner Jake Ootes said that fire came up to his 80-acre Shuswap property’s edge. “The vineyard itself will be nonproductive because of smoke damage.” …Wineries in recent years have suffered from smoke taint. Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars, for example, last year announced that it did not bottle its 2021 vintage. …The hit B.C. wineries are now facing includes less tourism. …Wine Growers BC CEO Miles Prodan said that on average most B.C. winery owners have yet to see tourism to tasting rooms return to numbers that they saw pre-pandemic.

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Premier Eby tours wildfire devastation in Central Okanagan

By Jennifer Smith
Victoria News
August 22, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

Premier David Eby toured areas of the Central Okanagan, devastated by three wildfires, by helicopter Tuesday afternoon. “The devastation for families who have lost everything, homes burned to the ground, will be some time recovering, for community members and so many affected individuals,” the premier said. “What is also evident, even if we get to a couple hundred homes, is the heroic efforts of firefighting crews.” Eby made his comments during a news conference in West Kelowna, at the reception centre for those evacuated due to the McDougall Creek wildfire. The premier was joined by Emergency Minister Bowin Ma, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston, and Federal Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan. …Non-essential travel to West Kelowna continues to be prohibited for the purpose of staying in temporary accommodation, including hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, hostels, RV parks, and campgrounds, to ensure accommodation is available for those who may need it.

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Tla’amin Nation and regional district focus on future of the Catalyst Paper Tis’kwat mill site

The Powell River Peak
August 21, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Tla’amin Nation and qathet Regional Disctrict released a joint statement on the importance of the site for future economic development of the qathet region paper mill [after Paper Excellence announced it permanent curtailment], as well as the manner in which the site needs to be stewarded to ensure the greatest degree of local benefit and to responsibly manage the decaying infrastructure and toxic legacy of more than a century of industrial activity on the site. …“We are planning for a dynamic set of economic activities at Tis’kwat, including low carbon fuel production, value-added forest products and land-based aquaculture – sustainable businesses that can benefit from the site’s unique attributes, such as existing infrastructure, availability of local hydro power, open water access and proximity to population centres,” stated Tla’amin hegus John Hackett. The joint statement is available here.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

This Vancouver designer crafts story-rich furnishings from reclaimed wood

By Marina Felix
The Business of Home Magazine
August 24, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Brent Comber may not have taken a direct path to his woodworking practice, but since the beginning of his winding design career, his native Pacific Northwest landscape has been a constant variable in all that he does. About four decades ago, Comber’s career began in garden design. …In the first few years of his garden design practice, Comber continually came up against a shortage of options to furnish these outdoor spaces in line with his aesthetic vision. …Comber has always been handy, and as he learned the woodworking techniques necessary for his growing furniture design practice, a great deal of the process was trial and error. …And around 2008, Comber’s garden design business was phased out, and art and design became the sole focus. Comber’s wooden furnishings possess a raw, elemental feeling that comes from the simplicity of form and the prominence of his chosen material—reclaimed wood from local Vancouver sources.

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BCIT appoints Dr. Guido Wimmers as new Dean, School of Construction and the Environment

By Amy Chen
BCIT News
August 17, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Guido Wimers

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is pleased to share that Dr. Guido Wimmers has been appointed Dean of the BCIT School of Construction and the Environment. Dr. Wimmers earned his Ph.D. from the Doctoral Program in Engineering Science and a Master’s degree in Architectural Engineering from Leopold Franzens University in Innsbruck, Austria. …Prior to moving to Canada in 2007, Guido collaborated with multi-disciplinary teams across Austria, Germany, and Italy, focusing on energy-efficient and sustainable building projects. In BC, he played an instrumental role in the implementation of the International Passive House Standards in BC and across Canada. At the University of Northern British Columbia, in 2014, he assumed the role of inaugural Chair of a novel Master of Engineering Program in Timber Engineering. …Guido begins his new role as Dean of the BCIT School of Construction and the Environment on August 28, 2023. 

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Forestry

Prince Albert Grand Council wildfire fighting program tailored to needs of Indigenous communities

By Kimiya Shokoohi
The StarPhoenix
August 22, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A two-year pilot program in Saskatchewan aims to build a better understanding of the needs and requirements of First Nations in regions affected by wildfires. The federal government recently announced a program for fighting wildfires in the Prince Albert area specific to the region’s Indigenous communities. The two-year training initiative — billed as the Prince Albert Grand Council Indigenous wildfire stewards pilot program — looks to combine traditional and modern techniques for combating wildfire. At least one expert believes it will help to better mitigate devastation. “Individual communities require individual responses,” said Krystopher Chutko, an assistant geography and planning professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “What happens in (Saskatchewan) can be very different from what happens in any other community in Canada.” The program, receiving nearly $525,000 in federal funding, is scheduled to start in 2024.

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B.C. fire crews temporarily pulled out as protest tried to ’overwhelm’ RCMP blockade

By Brianna Charlebois, Darryl Greer and Ashley Joannou
The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
August 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. Wildfire Service has confirmed it temporarily reassigned crews fighting fires in the province’s Shuswap region after protesters showed up at an RCMP roadblock in what police say was an effort to “overwhelm” the blockade. Police say the protesters challenged officers at the blockade on the Trans-Canada Highway, after “threats of violence” against emergency workers prompted the Mounties to increase their presence there. Some residents of the Shuswap in B.C.’s Interior have been refusing to obey wildfire evacuation orders, prompting officials to warn that they are putting lives at risk and compromising firefighting strategies. …The tensions over the evacuation orders that cover about 11,000 people in the Shuswap. …The group dispersed after about an hour. RCMP say in a statement that officers de-escalated the situation safely, without incident.

In related coverage:

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B.C. wildfires: Why some British Columbians say they won’t leave the fire zone

By Darryl Greer
Canadian Press in Global News
August 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bowinn Ma

North Shuswap resident Kyle Boppre offers a simple explanation when asked why he defied an evacuation order issued as a wildfire bore down on his neighbourhood. “It’s just, I guess, in my blood to fight,” he said. “We were able to save our home.” Boppre and others in the small communities that dot the Shuswap region’s waterfront felt like they were on their own, with no choice but to take the firefight into their own hands. But authorities say that their actions put their lives at risk and imperil firefighting strategies. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said Wednesday the unwanted presence of evacuation scofflaws could prevent tactics such as water-bombing or controlled burns. …Trent Tucker, a professor at Thompson Rivers University, lost his home to the fires. He said it’s entirely irresponsible for people to stay back in evacuation zones, and he’s “extremely upset” by stories “lionizing” those who defy evacuation orders.

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As big burns become the new normal, we need new forest management policies

Briony Penn & Rachel Holt, Mother Tree Network, UBC Faculty of Forestry
Vancouver Sun
August 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In wake of the most recent wildfire disasters, including the devastation the island of Maui and parts of B.C. continue to experience, it is high time to reflect on an ecological approach to forest management. …Nowhere is that argument clearer than in B.C., where government data shows forest sector emissions generated in the last decade are greater than all industry sectors combined. The province has taken that information one step further, stating in two recent government reports that B.C. must change forest management practices so they support prioritizing ecosystem health and resilience over timber. …Throughout history, priority has been placed on finding opportunities to log the last valuable trees in existence. …The only solution to this new wildfire reality is changing our perspective on forest sector carbon emissions and that starts with putting ecologically driven forest management policies into practice.

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Fear, falsehoods and conspiracy theories ignite amid Canada’s wildfires

By Hina Alam
Vancouver Sun
August 25, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canada’s current wildfire season is devastating evidence of the effects of climate change, scientists say, but for some conspiracy theorists, the thousands of square kilometres of burnt ground isn’t enough to convince them. Instead, space lasers, arsonists and government plots to restrict people’s movement are some of the causes of the fires, according to fringe online circles. …these theories are widely circulated and boosted by social media algorithms. …Kawser Ahmed, professor at University of Winnipeg, said almost all conspiracy theories have a spark of truth but are distorted to attract attention. Forest fires, he said, are spectacular events that draw attention before the full facts come to light, and conspiracy theories fill in the gaps. But such theories harm those who are fleeing the fires and those who are fighting the blazes, he noted. …Kennedy said conspiracy theories can cause diminishing trust among people, which could reduce compliance with evacuation orders.

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Public forest values feeling the burn around Quesnel, BC

By Frank Peebles
The Quesnel Cariboo Observer
August 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfires have already burned a hole through the wooden wallets of BC. …It is the practice of the provincial government to focus firefighting efforts on areas where homes and other structures are in danger of burning. In the past, that has meant that parcels held by First Nations for their future financial sustainability over decades have been erased in a matter of a couple of weeks. …“Unfortunately, the active wildfires in the Quesnel and Williams Lake regions are affecting several tenure holders, including a First Nation held tenure by the name of Yun Ka Whu’ten Development Limited Partnership, and Tolko. …The largest forest products manufacturing company in the region, West Fraser Timber, has also been affected. The cultural, ecological and recreational losses are virtually incalculable, as is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted without purpose.

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20 years after devastating Kelowna wildfires, what have we learned?

By Gordon Hoekstra
Vancouver Sun
August 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bruce Blackwell

Fire suppression in the areas where homes touch on wilderness has made tremendous progress since recommendations two decades ago in a seminal report sparked by a devastating wildfire season in B.C., according to experts who contributed to that report. But experts add that much more work is needed on the prevention side to protect communities, another key recommendation of the report, called Firestorm 2003. …Bruce Blackwell, a longtime forestry consultant, said that 20 years ago there was no co-operation and co-ordination between city fire departments that protect structures and the B.C. Wildfire Service. Now their operations are integrated. And he pointed to resources from other city fire departments from all over the province that poured into Kelowna in the past week… “On the suppression side, I would say what’s going on in Kelowna has been exceptional. From that perspective, we’ve certainly made tremendous progress,” said Blackwell, who contributed to the 2003 report.

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B.C. Forests Minister blames communities for slow progress on clearing wildfire fuel

By Gordon Hoekstra
The Vancouver Sun
August 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bruce Ralston

B.C. Forests Minister Bruce Ralston blamed local governments for slow progress on reducing wildfire risk in-and-around their communities. But experts have said there isn’t enough funding to make substantive progress. …Asked during a wildfire briefing about the slow pace of clearing wildfire fuel in communities where homes touch wilderness areas, Ralston pointed to “well-developed” provincial funding programs to which municipalities and First Nations can apply to carry out the work. They can be the difference between successfully extinguishing a fire and seeing a fire … do profound damage to a community, said Ralston. …Experts put the blame on the province for a lack of progress on fire prevention, saying funding available to communities in no way matches the need. A Postmedia investigation also showed local governments faced obstacles to access funding and an overwhelming bureaucratic process.

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Without systemic change, expect more record-breaking wildfire seasons

By Bob Mackin
Business in Vancouver
August 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

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First Nations lament cultural losses to B.C. wildfires

By Jason Peters
CBC News
August 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

First Nations say British Columbia’s most destructive wildfire season to date is having devastating impacts on their communities. And not just on physical structures, but on culture and tradition. By July 18 of this year, more than 14,000 square kilometres of land had already burned in B.C., which broke a record of just over 13,500 square kilometres in 2018. One of the most significant fires up to July 18 was the Donnie Creek wildfire, the largest in the province’s history. It was burning — and continues to burn — in northeast B.C., in the traditional territories of the Prophet River First Nation, Doig River First Nation and Blueberry River First Nations. First Nations members say the cultural destruction from the Donnie Creek fire is impossible to quantify, and now similar loss is occurring due to fires burning in the Okanagan, Shuswap and Fraser Canyon.

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Support B.C.’s wildland firefighters: sign our open letter to the forests minister – BC General Employees’ Union

BC General Employees’ Union
August 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

This year has been the most destructive wildfire season on record in British Columbia. An unprecedented provincial state of emergency has been declared, and communities all over our province are facing evacuation orders and threats of fast-moving wildfires. …Our union is standing with the frontline staff who are working around the clock to keep our communities safe, including the almost 2,000 BCGEU members in the BC Wildfire Service – both those on wildland firefighting crews and the administrative professionals, dispatchers and many others that support their work. …Last week, our union launched an open letter asking Forests Minister Bruce Ralston to increase wages, offer firefighters the same pension as other public safety responders and fix outstanding payroll delays so that these workers can do the work they are so committed to with the resources they need. Now is the time to support wildland firefighters and they need your support!

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Yellowknife and Kelowna Fires Are Previews of Our Grim Future

By Andrew Weaver, University of Victoria, former BC Green Party leader
The Tyee
August 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Andrew Weaver

The summer of 2023 is one for the record books. June and July were the warmest months ever recorded, and extreme temperature records were broken around the world. …And yet, this pales in comparison to what we can expect in the years ahead from ongoing global warming arising from greenhouse gas emissions released through the combustion of fossil fuels. …It appears little has been done to prepare rural Canada for what’s in store as governments deal with immediate, rather than transformational approaches to wildfire management. …Forest management practices including forest fire prevention, monoculture reforestation and the use of glyphosate to kill off broadleaf plant species, will all have to be reassessed from a science- and risk-based perspective. …Canadians will take solace as summer turns into winter and the immediacy of our 2023 wildfire situation wanes. Unfortunately, it will be Australia’s turn next.

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Rift hits BC Sunshine Coast Community Forest / Elphinstone Logging Focus relations

By Connie Jordison
The Coast Reporter
August 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) has halted regular meetings with Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) because of interpersonal dynamics as planning continues for fall logging of an Angus Creek area cutblock. An alleged statement by ELF spokesperson Ross Muirhead during an Aug. 6 public tour of that cutblock, prompted Hansen to inform ELF of a decision to “discontinue our meetings” earlier this month. …The board directed that additional sessions would not proceed until Terms of Reference to define a common purpose and appropriate participant conduct were agreed to. While that rule development process was under way, Hansen received a report of a statement disrespectful of his professionalism being made during the tour event which, according to ELF, was attended by 40 people. …Muirhead denied making the remarks.

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New Paradigms for Old Growth

By Megan Jamison, Kootenay Conservation Program
The Nelson Daily
August 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rachel Holt

Ecologist Dr. Rachel Holt is unwavering in her dedication to what she sees as the vitally important work of conservation. “My work has evolved around changing how we manage the land in BC.” Dr. Holt has been doing this work for over 30 years, mostly for the provincial government and for various First Nations. …So, what are some of the solutions Holt sees as critical? One key step would be to shift from having only six or seven large companies driving how industrial forestry operates, to many more mid-sized companies such as Kalesnikoff [who] provide a much higher ratio of jobs for every tree harvested through the production of value-added forest products. The transition could also include many more community forests …Holt emphasizes that “government has to provide clear direction to BCTS and other forestry companies… What is considered acceptable needs to change.”

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Why protest group ‘Savage Patch’ continues to protest old growth logging in the Fairy Creek injunction area

By Emily Fagan ·
CBC News
August 18, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

…To Megan Einarson, who was arrested in the recent Fairy Creek protests and has returned to join a new group in opposition to old growth logging, it’s difficult to see how many trees have been felled since the protests….The latest group to protest in the injunction area, called Savage Patch, says they are an Indigenous-led movement focused on Indigenous sovereignty and the protection of old growth forests.  On Aug. 15, RCMP arrested three protesters from Savage Patch for breaching a court-ordered injunction after the group blockaded a bridge to prevent logging company Teal Cedar Products from logging in the area. …Leaders from the Pacheedaht First Nation say the protesters do not represent them, and have asked that Savage Patch respect the nation’s rights to manage their territory without interference. …Peter Orlić, a member of Savage Patch, said it’s a misconception that their group is against industry.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

There are complex reasons for our dire wildfires, but scientists say climate change plays key role

By Bethany Lindsay
CBC News
August 19, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Year after year, B.C. keeps breaking wildfire records. The four worst seasons on record have all happened since 2017, and the consequences have been crushing — firefighters killed, an entire village virtually destroyed, and oppressive smoke blanketing communities across the continent.  If you follow the chatter online, you might run into a spirited debate about why this is happening.  Is it decades of overzealous fire suppression? Poor forest management? Criminalization of traditional Indigenous burning practices? Systematic destruction of more fire-resistant tree species?  Or is it climate change?  The answer is all of the above, according to wildfire experts.  “It’s not one thing that’s causing these really bad fire seasons,” said Jen Baron, a PhD candidate in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia.

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Health & Safety

BC Forest Safety Council Fall – Winter 2023 Training Schedule

BC Forest Safety Council
August 24, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

BCFSC offers over 30 FREE online forest industry safety courses as well as in-person, blended (a hybrid of online and in-person) and requested training across BC. Take a look at BCFSC’s upcoming in-person training by clicking the Read More and enroll early to save your seat. Visit the BCFSC Course Catalogue for more information on course content, enrolment or group training inquiries.

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Health risks include respiratory illness and eye irritation

WorkSafeBC
August 22, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

As wildfires continue to affect B.C.’s Southern Interior, employers and workers must remain vigilant about the potential health risks posed by smoke exposure. “Breathing in smoke can be dangerous for workers, as it is a form of air pollution that contains a complex mixture of harmful gases, fine particles, and chemicals,” says Colin Murray, senior manager in WorkSafeBC’s Risk Analysis Unit. “Prolonged exposure can lead to a range of health issues, including respiratory problems, an aggravation of asthma, eye irritation, and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections.” Individual responses to smoke vary, with certain groups being more vulnerable to its health impacts. Specific worker populations should limit their exposure, including those with pre-existing conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, and diabetes; pregnant individuals; elderly people; and those with current or recent respiratory infections such as COVID-19. Healthy individuals can also be affected and should watch for symptoms…

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Wildfire smoke may increase risk of brain disease, research suggests

By Hina Alam
The Canadian Press in Global News
August 23, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

A growing body of international research suggests pollution from wildfire smoke can produce cognitive deficits, post-traumatic stress and may even increase the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Until recently, the effects of wildfires have been studied on patients’ lungs, hearts and blood. But several researchers have started looking into how fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke can enter the body and travel to the brain. Kent Pinkerton, at the University of California, Davis, said… tiny particles of soot and other chemicals in smoke have the ability to enter the cells and nerves of the nose. …“Some particles from wildfire smoke have been shown to be able to cross the blood-brain barrier and cause inflammation of the brain,” he said. Ray Dorsey, at the University of Rochester said “Hitchhiking on these tiny particulate matter are pieces that are toxic metals.” Brains of people with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s show higher concentrations of heavy metal.

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NDP government is slow, unclear about an obvious emergency

By Rob Shaw
Business in Vancouver
August 22, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bowinn Ma

As roaring wildfires crested the hills above Kelowna on Friday afternoon, B.C.’s Emergency Minister was asked whether the province would declare a state of emergency. The answer? No. …By Saturday, Ma’s view of the merit of a state of emergency had evolved again. …This isn’t necessarily to pick on Ma. She says she’s following the advice of experts inside her ministry. A state of emergency does not offer any more immediate front-line firefighting services. …But it does unlock expanded federal aid, legal powers for provincial officials to enter private property to fight fires… and more. It also sends a signal to the public. …If the foot-dragging and hesitancy on states of emergency does indeed come from the officials within Emergency Management BC and the BC Wildfire Service, then it’s up to the politicians overseeing those areas to set clear guidelines on how they can do better. 

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What you should know about home insurance if you’ve been displaced by wildfires

The Canadian Press in CBC News
August 21, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

All standard homeowner and tenant insurance policies cover damage caused by fires, and also provide coverage to help with the cost of mass evacuations, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). …”As soon as there’s an incident that’s ongoing … consumers will want to reach out to their insurance company right away at least to get the claim started,” said Daniel Ivans, an insurance expert. Those filing a claim don’t need to have a full picture of the damage right away, said Ivans, as you can add to your claim later once you know the extent of the fire’s impact on your property. IBC advised anyone forced to flee in the Northwest Territories and British Columbia to make a list of damaged or destroyed items and keep receipts for expenses they incurred.  …”There’s no such thing as an ‘act of God’ exclusion in Canadian insurance policies,” he said.

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Cancer as a compensable consequence

WorkSafeBC
August 22, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

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: Proposed amendments to policy on cancer as a compensable consequence. You’re invited to provide feedback on the options until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, October 20, 2023. WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors will consider stakeholder feedback before making a decision on the policy amendments.

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Forest Fires

West Kelowna fire department returns to ‘normal’ operations: wildfire service

Canadian Press in CTV News
August 27, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC Wildfire Service says the West Kelowna, B.C., fire department is returning to “normal day-to-day operations,” 10 days after a fast-moving wildfire forced thousands to flee and went on to destroy more than 170 homes in the area. It says an additional 1,800 people have been allowed to return home this weekend as evacuation orders are lifted. …The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre says 1,588 properties remain on evacuation order in West Kelowna and 1,114 remain on order in rural areas of the regional district as well as on Westbank First Nation lands. The McDougall Creek wildfire, responsible for much of the destruction in the West Kelowna area, continues to burn out of control over 123 square kilometres. In the Shuswap region to the north, BC Wildfire Service says a warming and drying trend will fuel increased fire behaviour at the 430-square-kilometre Bush Creek East blaze before temperatures are expected to cool Tuesday.

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Frogs in Fort Smith wetland still ‘happily hopping about,’ despite wildfire protection work, town says

Meghan Grant
CBC News
August 26, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

An out-of-control wildfire continues to threaten Fort Smith, N.W.T., but officials assure community members that the frogs in the beloved frog ponds are “happily hopping about” despite extensive tree-thinning in the surrounding area. The frog ponds were surrounded by large, old jack pine and tightly packed black spruce that acted like a “fire wick,” pulling fires from the south into the dense forested areas of the community. Extensive thinning operations, as well as a dozer guard with sprinkler lines, were put in place by crews in order to mitigate that risk. “I want to assure everyone that this does not mean the low-lying wetlands of the frog ponds have been destroyed,” Fort Smith Protective Services said. “After a walk into the ponds this morning, I found many frogs happily hopping about in what little wet vegetation is left after a dry summer”

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Stein Mountain wildfire northwest of Lytton leads to another evacuation order and alert

By Kristen Holliday
Castanet
August 24, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has expanded the boundary area of an evacuation order put in place due to the Stein Mountain wildfire. The 3,289-hectare blaze is burning about 12 kilometres northwest of Lytton and west of the Fraser River. BC Wildfire Service said Thursday it has seen “significant growth” over the past 48 hours on the north flank. “Structure protection crews are actively protecting structures, and night crews remain on sight with support of one water tender,” BCWS said. On Thursday afternoon, the TNRD issued its expanded evacuation order for an area in Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country), west of the Fraser River. The regional district noted that the two addressed properties within that area have been on evacuation order for weeks, and no other addressed properties are within the expanded order area. People who are in the area under evacuation order must leave immediately.

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Massive wildfire jumps fireguard, approaches small northern Alberta community

By Kelsey Patterson
Edmonton City News
August 23, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A massive wildfire in northern Alberta grew significantly overnight and breached a fireguard, threatening a small remote community. Officials warn the out-of-control Wood Buffalo Complex is more than 450,000 hectares in size and approaching the community of Fort Fitzgerald. The flames were 3.5 kilometres from homes as of Wednesday afternoon – 2.5 kilometres closer than Tuesday. The wildfire breached the most southerly “dozer” guard, an area of land plowed by bulldozers to eliminate “fuel” – trees and vegetation – to control the spread of wildfires. Bulldozers were working Wednesday to strengthen the perimeter of the fire to “re-establish protection from the south,” according to Alberta Wildfire’s latest update. …Alberta Wildfire says there are 308 personnel, 57 pieces of heavy equipment and 24 helicopters actively working on the Wood Buffalo Complex blaze.

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Mission closing municipal forest due to extreme wildfire risk

By Darrian Matassa-Fung
Global News
August 23, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.”

In related news: Victoria Times Colonist, by Jeff Ball: ‘Forest was ablaze’: Fire in Thetis Lake park sparks call for shutdown

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N.W.T. politicians ponder next steps in wildfire crisis

The Canadian Press in the Comox Valley Record
August 23, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

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Lillooet fire tornado caught on camera by BC Wildfire Service

By Charlie Carey and David Nadalini
City News Vancouver
August 23, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

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Up to 200 buildings estimated destroyed by Okanagan wildfires, fire chiefs say

CBC News
August 21, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Latest estimates suggest almost 90 structures were destroyed or damaged in West Kelowna and the Westbank First Nation, and almost 100 in the North Westside region to the north. Three homes were lost in Kelowna and another three in neighbouring Lake Country. The B.C. premier, along with provincial forests and emergencies ministers, met Tuesday with evacuees from the southern Interior, some of whom criticized the province’s wildfire fighting strategy. Wildfire-related travel orders to the B.C. Interior — except for West Kelowna — will be lifted at midnight Wednesday. In the Shuswap region, wildfire fighters say their equipment has been removed or tampered with. The latest estimates from fire chiefs in B.C.’s Central Okanagan region suggest almost 200 buildings have been destroyed in aggressive wildfires that swept through West Kelowna and the surrounding area last week.

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‘A great feeling’: Okanagan wildfire battle has turned a corner, say fire chiefs

By Darryl Greer
Canadian Press in Victoria Times Colonist
August 21, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

KELOWNA, B.C. — Fire chiefs say the fight against devastating wildfires that have been rampaging around Lake Okanagan, B.C., has turned a corner after days of destruction. West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund said “things are finally looking better,” with an army of 500 firefighters engaged in a battle that is now in a new phase. He told a news briefing Sunday that no more homes in West Kelowna had been destroyed by the McDougall Creek wildfire in the past 24 hours and it was possible to begin to “talk about recovery.” Kelowna fire chief Travis Whiting told the briefing he was also “very excited” about the advances being made, with his crews optimistic and in good spirits. …The positive developments in the Central Okanagan come amid a desperate battle against hundreds of fires across the province, with 30,000 people under evacuation orders… “We can take a deep breath” and focus on strategy, said Whiting.

In related coverage: Dozens of evacuation orders lifted around Central Okanagan

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Wildfire continues to burn northwest of Keremeos

By Jordy Cunningham
Victoria News
August 22, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Upper Park Rill Creek wildfire west of Oliver saw no changes overnight as it remains at 1,090 hectares. Under the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Emergency Operations, there are currently 246 properties on evacuation alert and 257 properties on evacuation order. The map of where the orders and alerts are can be seen on the RDOS interactive map. Fire crews and heavy machinery are on site to help battle the blaze. The blaze was human-caused and started on Friday, Aug. 18. It remains out of control and is one of 14 wildfires of note in the province. There are also currently 377 active wildfires on B.C.

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