Region Archives: United States

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Business & Politics

Fire claims Kamas’ Blazzard lumber mill, cause under investigation

By Connor Thomas
KPCW Utah
November 14, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Much of the lumber survived unburned, but firefighters say the mill itself was not insured. Blazzard Lumber Co. has been in Kamas for five generations. Its mill on state Route 32, on the north end of Main Street, caught fire around 10 p.m. Nov. 13. South Summit Fire Chief Scott Thorell said the owners called 911. He could see the fire from his house. “There was a large orange glow, a large amount of fire initially, that was moving fast because we had strong south winds,” he told KPCW. Almost 40 South Summit firefighters responded, plus nine more from Park City and Wasatch County. The fire was out in less than two hours. The fire chief said the mill was not insured. It’s badly damaged but some cut and uncut lumber survived. …No injuries were reported. The total cost of the damage is not yet known.

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Finance & Economics

US Building Material Prices Increase While Other Input Prices Fall

By Jesse Wade
The NAHB Eye on Housing
November 14, 2024
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—decreased 0.2% in October according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to a year ago, this index is up 0.3% in October after a decline of 0.1% in September. …At the individual commodity level, excluding energy, the five commodities with the highest importance for building materials to the new residential construction index were as follows: ready-mix concrete, general millwork, paving mixtures/ blocks, sheet metal products, and wood office furniture/store fixtures. Across these commodities, there was price growth across the board compared to last year. Ready-mix concrete was up 3.7%, wood office furniture/store fixtures up 3.6%, general millwork up 2.8%, paving mixtures/blocks up 2.4% and sheet metal products up 0.6%.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Transit Center Built with Cutting-Edge Timber Frame

Flagstaff Business News
November 14, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Mountain Line’s new Downtown Connection Center is scheduled to open in May. The $29.5 million facility will be a hub for Mountain Line riders, drivers, dispatchers, operations and administrative staff. …It’s all in a two-story, 20,938-square-foot building designed to meet Coconino County’s sustainable building standards. The environmentally-friendly design by HDR Inc. feature cross-laminated timber. It’s only the second building in Arizona to use mass-timber rather than the more common building framework of concrete and steel. …Timberlab, based in Portland, Oregon, provided the mass-timber materials for the transit center using Douglas fir, according to Sam Dicke, the company’s manager of client development. Some advantages of mass-timber construction include the need for fewer workers to assemble the posts and beams, and it can reduce the construction schedule by about 20%, he said.

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How regional mass timber markets can support decarbonization and help build local economies

By Jake Chidester
The World Economic Forum
November 15, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

The global market for mass timber is expected to grow to $3.7 billion by 2032 from $1.5 billion in 2020, according to 2023 report. This growth is being driven by the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific building construction industries. Hyperlocal approaches to creating a mass timber industry are already taking shape around the world. …In North America, British Columbia and Ontario have created local mass timber action plans, while the US city of Boston has  also successfully catalyzed a local mass timber market through targeted accelerator programmes. And in Detroit, Michigan, real estate developer, Bedrock, has partnered with Michigan State University programme MassTimber@MSU, the United States Forest Service and other public, private and academic stakeholders to build the Great Lakes Open-Source Timber Innovation Collaborative. This will further develop mass timber research, manufacturing, fabrication, design and construction capacity in the Great Lakes region.

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Forestry

US Forest Service ready for your comments about proposed changes to its Northwest Forest Plan

By Jerry Howard
KDRV ABC Newswatch 12
November 15, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The U.S. Forest Service is starting a public comment period today about proposed changes to its forest management plan for Northern California, Oregon and Washington. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service is taking public input about a proposed amendment to land management plans for national forests in the Northwest Forest Plan area. The draft Environmental Impact Statement for the amendment gets published today in the Federal Register, launching an 120-day comment period to allow the public to offer input about how these forests will be managed. …USFS says the draft EIS focuses on balancing economic needs, ecological health, and community safety across the Northwest Forest Plan area. …The Forest Service will review and incorporate feedback to develop a final environmental impact statement, anticipated in 2025.  Comments can be submitted here.

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Appeals court declines to halt logging project in Los Padres National Forest

By Mike Harris
Pacific Coast Business Times
November 14, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

California — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 12 declined to halt a logging and vegetation clearing project atop Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak in Ventura County’s Los Padres National Forest. Various environmental groups, plus Ventura County, Ojai and Patagonia Works, have sued the U.S. Forest Service to halt the project on grounds that it would violate environmental laws, harm vulnerable wildlife, and do irreparable damage to intact roadless areas of the forest. “We had hoped the court would rule in favor of the planet, biodiversity and the community,” said Hans Cole, head of Environmental Activism at outdoor apparel maker Patagonia. …The ruling comes four years after the Trump Administration first proposed the project, leading to significant opposition from conservation organizations, Indigenous groups, scientists, businesses and local governments, according to Los Padres ForestWatch, one of the plaintiffs. The project’s opponents are considering their next steps, including whether to seek a rehearing.

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Forest Fires

14-year-old boy arrested for allegedly starting New Jersey forest fire

By Meredith Deliso
ABC News
November 14, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

A 14-year-old boy faces arson charges for allegedly starting a wildfire in New Jersey, police said. The forest fire ignited on Oct. 30 in Evesham Township consumed 52 acres though no structures were damaged, police said. Authorities investigating the cause and origin of the blaze “located evidence that identified this fire as an arson,” the Evesham Township Police said in a statement. Following an “extensive investigation,” the teen — who resides within Evesham Township — was identified as a suspect, police said. The teen, whose name has not been released due to his age, was arrested on Nov. 7 and charged with aggravated arson and causing or risking widespread injury or damage, police said. He was lodged in the Middlesex Juvenile Detention Center pending his first appearance, police said. Police said they are also investigating whether a fire that ignited on Nov. 7, in the same area as the Oct. 30 fire, is connected to this incident.

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