Hurricane Milton spared Tampa as it plowed through Florida, compounding the damage wrought by Helene. In other news: forestry could shape BC North’s election outcome; Oregon’s Forestry Dept. is accused of being “bad for women”; Montana’s Stoltze Lumber is still thriving; and a virtual reality tool for sawmill training debuts in Australia. Meanwhile: the US GDP increased 3% in Q2, 2024, as inflation reached lowest point since 2021; and conference registration is open for the BC Professional Foresters, and the BC Truck Loggers, while COFI says Save the Date for their 2025 Convention.
In Forestry/Wildfire news: experts say the Jasper fire could have been prevented; US agencies battle over wildfire aviation policies in California; Washington state’s forester says forest management is key to wildfire mitigation; a Minnesota pilot survived crash of his fire-suppression plane; and the pivotal US Northwest Forest Plan is up for renewal.
Finally, a look at how Ukraine’s forests have been devastated by the hellscape of war.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
VANCOUVER, BC — Western Forest Products says it is temporarily curtailing lumber production… from its B.C. sawmills by approximately 30 million board feet during the period from October to December of this year. The reduction will affect operating schedules at all B.C. WFP sawmill locations, including Ladysmith, Saltair, Cowichan Bay, Duke Point and Chemainus sawmills, impacting about 800 employees, said WFP’s Babita Khunkhun. The measures include temporary downtime during the last two weeks of December at those mills. …This comes on top of additional curtailments that took place earlier in the year, for a total reduction of approximately 90 million board feet, or about 10% of the company’s annual lumber capacity. Western Forest Products says the curtailments are due to a combination of market challenges, including weaker lumber demand and higher U.S. softwood lumber duty rates. Click here to read 
VANCOUVER — It is not an exaggeration to declare that forestry’s fortunes in recent years have been nothing short of disastrous, with more than 9,000 jobs lost since 2018. …However, there is hope for the forestry industry in B.C., and that is Canada’s bi-partisan consensus that the country needs more housing. …The CMHC found that housing starts had declined by 7% in 2023 compared to 2022, with a particularly acute 25% reduction in detached, single-family home starts. For BC, where forestry is still a prominent industry despite its ongoing difficulties, the impact of the housing and construction downturn has harmed the province hard. …However, Canada’s political leaders have realized the need for a dramatic boost in the country’s housing supply to alleviate the chronic affordability challenges faced by ordinary Canadians. …If the softwood lumber dispute means an unfriendly American market, an explosion of new housing starts in Canada is an attractive alternative.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steady rain fell and winds began to gust in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday morning as a mighty Hurricane Milton churned toward a potentially catastrophic collision with the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay even after millions were ordered to evacuate. Stragglers face grim odds of surviving, officials said. The Tampa Bay region, home to more than 3.3 million people, hasn’t seen a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century. Milton fluctuated between categories 4 and 5 as it approached, but regardless of the distinction in wind speeds, the National Hurricane Center said, it would be a major and extremely dangerous storm when its center makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday. …Major bridges around Tampa Bay planned to close in the afternoon, she said, and public shelters were open for evacuees. 
Not even two weeks after Hurricane Helene swamped the Florida coastline, Milton strengthened into a major hurricane that is headed toward the state. The system is threatening the densely populated Tampa metro area — which has a population of more than 3.3 million people — and is menacing the same stretch of coastline that was battered by Helene. Traffic was thick on Interstate 75 heading north on Tuesday as evacuees fled in advance of Milton. Crews were also hurrying to clear debris left by Helene. …According to the National Hurricane Center’s 
WASHINGTON — Inflation in the United States dropped last month to its lowest point since it first began surging more than three years ago, adding to a spate of encouraging economic news in the closing weeks of the presidential race. Consumer prices rose just 2.4% in September from a year earlier, down from 2.5% in August, and the smallest annual rise since February 2021. Measured from month to month, prices increased 0.2% from August to September, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the same as in the previous month. But excluding volatile food and energy costs, “core” prices, a gauge of underlying inflation, remained elevated in September. Core prices in September were up 3.3% from a year earlier and 0.3% from August. …The improving inflation picture follows a 
Given feedback from international partners about their state of preparations, the European Commission announced October 2 that it’s proposing to delay launching the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). 
USDA is hard at work offering support for farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene. More than a week after its devastation, the agency is still working to grasp just how much has been lost. According to USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie, “We’re still assessing the size of the impacts to agriculture and forestry. We know they’re significant. We know there will be short-term impacts and we also know that the impacts on farmer livelihoods will last for potentially years.” With emotions running high, the stress of it all can be overwhelming. “Some of our own offices which were in nearby counties have been hit by the storm. The USDA family and other counties stepping up to triage in field farmer inquiries. …Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow says that she is committed to getting farmers and ranchers the emergency assistance they need as soon as possible.
A plan by the British government to burn biomass imported from countries including North Korea has been described as “bonkers”. A bioenergy resource model calculates that only a big expansion in the import of energy crops and wood from a surprising list of nations would satisfy the UK’s plan to meet net zero. …About a third of the biomass used in the UK is imported. In 2021, about 76% from North America and 18% from the EU. But there is not enough wood in these regions to supply the large expansion that the government is banking on. The resource model sets out potential sources of bioenergy. Only the most ambitious scenario outlined would theoretically provide enough biomass to meet this demand, and it involves a huge increase in imports. …Serious concerns have been raised about the affect of large-scale use of biomass on biodiversity, air quality, agriculture and soil health in the UK and abroad.
LISBON, Portugal — For three days in mid-September, wildfires rapidly tore through parts of Portugal… cutting off the top half of the country. …Few people in Europe and the US would have realized that some of their everyday products may have played a role in making these fires worse. Certain toilet paper, tissue and office paper brands are made with materials from eucalyptus trees, a non-native species to Portugal. The eucalyptus globulus is an ideal tree for commercial cultivation because it’s faster-growing, has a larger amount of fiber and produces more pulp than most other species. The problem is eucalyptus trees are particularly flammable. …Proportional to its size, Portugal has more eucalyptus than any country in the world. But in California, the eucalyptus tree has been naturalized. …A debate over the role of eucalyptus in wildfires is brewing, with some studies showing they have little influence in making blazes worse.
OTTAWA — Across Canada, firefighters put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe, including by helping to fight wildland fires. …Because of their regular exposure to toxic chemicals from burning materials and firefighting foams, firefighters face a higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer. … The Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, tabled the National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting in Parliament and announced an investment of $12.29 million over 5 years and $220,000 ongoing, to advance firefighter health and safety. New investments will support the development of guidance for diagnostic testing and new tools to address training needs within the health care sector. This could lead to earlier diagnoses that may result in better health outcomes. To address gaps in equipment and health and safety standards, investments will also support the development of standards for wildland firefighters to support improved occupational health and safety for their unique needs.