Calls are growing for a national wildfire strategy as Canada confronts another severe fire season. In related news: BC restricts off-road vehicle use in several fire centres; experts explain why BC’s Bald Ridge wildfire intensified so quickly; the Okanagan fires offer a glimpse of a worsening crisis; BC’s Ainslie Creek fire continues to push toward Highway 5 Washington State is urged to prepare for megafires; and Europe is told to put more emphasis on wildfire prevention. In Forestry news: ENGOs challenge BC’s Kootenay Lake forest landscape plans; The Tyee questions logging in spotted owl habitat; and BC’s Forest Practices Board will audit biodiversity practices on Vancouver Island.
In Business news: Canada invests $31M to help BC respond to trade disruptions; Trump’s new customs rules threaten Canadian exporters; looming US tariffs raise concerns for Ontario forestry; Canfor says it has sufficient fibre for its remaining Alberta mills; New Brunswick’s AV Nackawic halts wood deliveries; and FPAC calls for a forestry-specific rail strategy. Meanwhile: GreenFirst reports on Q2 results and CEO transition; BC’s loggers release the 2026 Timber Harvest Cost Model; and NeLMA names Matt Pomeroy to replace Jeff Easterling, who is retiring after 25 years.
Finally, the urgent case for bringing back North America’s three-to-five-storey city.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hundreds of wildfires are burning across North America, putting communities, buildings, and firefighters at risk. With blazes in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Utah, and in Canada, especially in British Columbia, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories, there have been plenty of headlines about the devastation. Last month, smoke from Canadian boreal forest fires poured into the United States, triggering air quality alerts for more than 120 million Americans. …Four Republican lawmakers accused Canada of failing to do enough to prevent wildfire smoke from hitting the United States, claiming that “continued inaction” was “unacceptable.” President Donald Trump also expressed frustration. …Forest management experts say Trump is oversimplifying a much more complicated problem. The U.S. and Canada have forests that are different in structure, but both now face many of the same fire pressures, says Lori Daniels, a professor of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia. [A subscription to the National Post is required for full story access]
OTTAWA — For the past six months, Luke Elias, the president at Muskoka Cabinet Company Inc., says his workers have been working only two or three days a week. The Eastern Ontario company, which has been making custom wood cabinetry for nearly four decades, is one of the thousands of companies in the kitchen cabinet industry that have been crippled by cheap imports coming from primarily southeast Asian countries. Elias said his company, like many others, has been working at less than half of its capacity, and he has had to lay off 30 out of 70 workers. …On Friday, Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne announced a 25 per cent surtax on imports of certain wood cabinets and vanities, effective immediately, to remain in place for a maximum of 200 days. …Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the surtax is a very important first step in helping address dumping.
The TLA, together with the ILA, NWLA and MNP is pleased to share the 2026 Timber Harvest Cost Model. This model was developed to provide contractors with reliable data to support contract negotiations and align with government requirements. These rates reflect the required revenues of a contractor who runs a reasonably efficient operation. The BC Timber Harvest Rate Model calculates the hourly rates for equipment used in BC’s forest industry. It is designed to give contractors a baseline rate for a selected piece of equipment, serving as a starting point for setting rates. The inputs used in the calculations for the rate guide have been gathered from contractors, equipment manufacturers, service providers and administrative sources. …In May 2025, the beta version of the model was launched and shared with the BC contractor community. Since then, MNP has been gathering feedback from users to identify enhancements that will help contractors determine appropriate equipment rates.
A Canfor spokesperson recently told the Whitecourt Star that discussions with Fox Creek sawmill staff, some of whom may transition to Whitecourt operations after the Fox Creek mill closes, are “ongoing.” The discussions follow Canadian Forest Products (Canfor)’s announcement at the end of July that the Fox Creek sawmill will permanently close by the late summer. “At this time, we have sufficient fibre supply to support our operations in Alberta, including Whitecourt and Grande Prairie,” Canfor media relations told the Star via email. Canfor confirmed approximately 70 staff members are impacted by the closure of the Fox Creek location, adding that it’s anticipated around 30 per cent will be offered other “opportunities.” These opportunities include roles at Whitecourt operations and other locations, or caretaking work at the Fox Creek site, according to Canfor. …The company stated the Fox Creek mill closure will result in a loss of 120 million board feet of production capacity.
SEARSMONT, Maine —Federal investigators say firefighters unknowingly used a suppression tactic that likely contributed to the deadly explosion at Robbins Lumber mill fire in Searsmont in May. The report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says that neither workers nor responding firefighters understood that the silo involved was designed to limit oxygen or that its contents posed a combustible dust hazard. … A preliminary investigation classified the fire as accidental and identified combustible dust as the cause of the subsequent explosion. The report says the silo was an oxygen-limiting model, which is designed to restrict the amount of air entering the structure. NIOSH said mill employees and firefighters interviewed after the explosion did not know the silo was oxygen-limiting and were unaware that the wood shavings and sawdust inside constituted a combustible dust hazard or that there were different risks with that silo as compared to other designs.
With one of the last buyers of hemlock pulpwood gone, good forest management could become too costly to sustain — putting habitat, climate resilience and rural jobs all at risk. News about the end of pulping operations at Finch Paper has focused on how it is bad for logging contractors and the forest products industry. As organizations focused on the future of Vermont forests, we agree — those impacts are significant. …This is bad news for everyone who cares about sustaining Vermont’s forests. [While commodity products are] often a goal of forest management, so are: improving wildlife habitat, biodiversity, climate resilience, recreational trails, carbon storage, protecting against pests and diseases… managing fire danger and improving the overall health and diversity of forests. Our organizations may prioritize the benefits on this list differently, but we agree on one thing: Without buyers for wood … forest management become economically difficult, or impossible, to carry out. 
Fire Lake lies near Garibaldi Park. …Five years ago, the B.C. government earmarked the Fire Lake forest as a priority old-growth logging deferral area. Part of the forest sits in a wildlife habitat area that the government set aside for the endangered northern spotted owl… But none of these designations carried any weight last fall when BC Timber Sales auctioned off about 70 hectares of the forest … for clearcut logging. Joe Foy, a campaigner for the Wilderness Committee, drove along freshly bulldozed roads to shoot photos and video of the forest and document recent logging. …When Foy and his colleague combed through B.C. government websites and maps, they discovered the forest around Fire Lake is far from the only federally designated critical habitat for spotted owls that Premier David Eby’s government has slated for logging. …The government claims it is safeguarding species at risk, Foy said, but “species are literally disappearing as they talk.”
Retreat to the woods and waves of Vancouver Island this fall for the 29th Annual Woodlots BC Conference and AGM in Parksville from October 1-3. This year’s event will be held at the tranquil Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, located on the traditional lands of the Qualicum and Snaw-Naw-As First Nations. Explore the theme “Woods & Waves: Navigating the Narrative” through coastal field tours followed by a full day of speakers and sessions. This is a fantastic opportunity to combine professional development with a relaxing resort experience. Enjoy the 22-acre forested oceanfront resort featuring 3 kms of sandy beach, the Grotto Spa, indoor pool and on-site restaurant. This year’s theme is Woods & Waves: Navigating the Narrative. Woodlots in BC face unique, shifting challenges—from intense weather events to changing regulations. This theme uses “navigation” as a metaphor, positioning open communication and collective wisdom as the ultimate compass for woodlot managers. Register by the Early Bird deadline on August 31, 2026, for a chance to win your Early Bird registration back. 
Prolonged drought conditions are forcing British Columbia’s fire tacticians to rethink how they battle blazes in the province’s dry and hot Interior. As huge, destructive blazes spread across the southern Interior, many are burning across land that has already experienced fire over the last decade. In years past, the BC Wildfire Service would expect previous burn scars to slow, or even stop, the progress of a new fire. But this fire season, a prolonged drought has upended that assumption. Firefighters’ experiences could have implications for what British Columbians can expect from fire seasons for years to come. …A burn scar “used to be something we could use as a control line,” Chapman said. Current conditions, though, make those scars untrustworthy. “The fire behaviour can be almost as extreme in some of those old burns, depending on their age and how severe the burn was.”
Two protesters from the Walbran Valley blockade were sentenced Tuesday, after pleading guilty to breaching an injunction order in November 2025. The order barred protesters from blocking access to the Tsawak-qin Forestry logging site. Twelve protesters were arrested in total. Kenni Apt was sentenced to 12 months’ probation, with 75 hours of community service or a fine of $2,250. They were arrested after attaching themselves to a large wooden cougar statue within the injunction area, intending to block logging activity. Apt says they feel good about their sentence, but they’re sad that they won’t be able to visit the valley any time soon. …Zoey Barak was sentenced to seven days’ jail time. She was arrested after being found in an elevated sling between two trees within the injunction area. The blockade in Walbran Valley was linked to the same organizers behind the Fairy Creek anti-logging blockade on southwest Vancouver Island, which saw thousands arrested in 2021. 
In the Okanagan, we have sadly become all too familiar with the smoke and devastation caused by wildfires. Most recently, several wildfires have impacted our region, most notably the Bradley Creek fire, which has threatened parts of the Okanagan Indian Band lands and resulted in the loss of more than 200 homes. It should also be noted that some residents reportedly evacuated before an official evacuation order was in effect, a reminder of how quickly conditions can change when wind and weather shift unexpectedly. …Earlier this year, I discussed many of these issues with retired forester Murray Wilson on my Finding Solutions podcast. Drawing on decades of experience, Mr. Wilson shared his perspective on forest management and how we can better understand and mitigate wildfire risk. …Forest management is undoubtedly important. However, it is also reasonable to expect that more progress can be made in reducing the number of human-caused fires.
As wildfires burn across Canada and smoke again reaches communities far from the fire line, a harder question is emerging behind the daily evacuation updates and air quality warnings: Is British Columbia doing enough to manage its forests before the next crisis? The question has taken on added political weight as criticism of Canadian wildfire smoke has surfaced south of the border and as politicians debate whether severe fire seasons are primarily a climate problem, a forest management problem or both. Murray Wilson says that framing misses the point if it becomes an excuse for inaction. Wilson, a former forester, discussed wildfire risk, smoke, forest management and the shrinking capacity of the forest sector in an interview with 
I saw “
U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Canada is failing to properly manage its forests, and that the cost of wildfire smoke drifting south should be added to tariffs on Canadian goods, has prompted renewed questions about whether more could be done to prevent the massive blazes that have blanketed parts of North America with smoke. But wildfire experts say the answer is far more complicated. “The short answer is there’s nothing that Canada can do about these major wildfires that are causing wildfire smoke to travel thousands of kilometres,” said Anabela Bonada, managing director of climate science at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo. …“The No. 1 thing is all of us reducing our emissions, and that goes for the U.S. as well,” Bonada said. “But we are looking at smoky summers ahead, so we need to do everything possible to protect ourselves and people that live in our home.”
As the Southern Europe heats up, countries are spending billions on firefighting efforts. But wildfire experts say a greater emphasis on preventative measures is needed to stop this year’s disaster from becoming a regular occurrence. “[Scientists] totally agree that we pretty much know what we need to do, but we’re massively lagging behind,” says Stefan Doerr, a geographer at Swansea University. …“First of all, we have to stop climate change,” says Alexander Held, a wildfire specialist at the European Forest Institute. “But we can’t do this in the short term.” Instead, he says it is vital to modify the land to cut back on the accumulation of fuel. One strategy is to thin highly flammable vegetation by reintroducing grazing livestock, cutting back growth, or even using prescribed burning… Making landscapes wetter can also suppress fires. …Introducing strips of more fire-resilient deciduous trees, for example, is an option.
Global wildfires are intensifying, prompting “wildfire diplomacy” where nations share emergency resources like firefighters and aircraft. This cooperation, exemplified by US-Canada efforts and the EU mechanism, builds trust and facilitates immediate response. However, this assistance largely neglects crucial long-term recovery phases, including contamination testing, housing reconstruction, and public health. The article argues that effective wildfire diplomacy must extend beyond emergency aid to encompass prevention, shared resilience, and comprehensive post-fire recovery standards. This includes joint investment in forecasting, cross-border smoke protocols, and integrating Indigenous knowledge, ensuring communities can rebuild safely and sustainably.
Our Policy, Regulation and Research Department is requesting feedback on sections 4.107 and 4.110–4.118, Harassment and Violence, of the proposed new Part 4.1, Psychological Health and Safety, Harassment and Violence, of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The consultation phase gives stakeholders an opportunity to share feedback before the proposed amendments are taken to public hearing. View the 
As the Bald Ridge wildfire near Summerland, B.C., continues to burn, many are wondering how the blaze spread so quickly. …the Bald Ridge wildfire quickly grew to 50 square kilometres in just three hours after it was first detected. …“It was absolutely shocking to see that fire in Summerland go from an ignition and then spread to a thousand hectares within an hour or so, 5,000 overnight and 10,000 within 24 hours,” Lori Daniels, Centre for Wildfire Coexistence at the University of British Columbia said. …Cliff Chapman with the B.C. Wildfire Service said conditions in that region of British Columbia right now “are explosive.” …The fires across B.C. are occurring at a time when “fires are coming on the shield of prolonged droughts,” according to Daniels. …Daniels believes that, “if we have forest and trees near us now in Canada,” people in the country are “susceptible” to evacuations and wildfire effects.
VERNON — The devastation stretches for more than a kilometre along the northwest shore of British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake, house after house reduced to scorched and twisted metal and grey dust. The apocalyptic scenes — burned-out cars, still-smouldering ground and homes levelled to their foundations — stand in contrast to the postcard views previously enjoyed by this once-pretty waterfront community on the Okanagan Indian Band’s reserve. But the aftermath of the Bradley Creek wildfire, that was fanned by howling winds as it tore through the area on Saturday, extends far beyond the shoreline, and smoke still billows from behind the community, on a steep, forest-covered ridge. The depths of the destruction go deep into the reserve, where Chief Dan Wilson said on Tuesday that about 230 homes had been destroyed in one of the worst wildfire losses in recent Canadian history. Wilson said 30 homes of band members and 200 non-band homes had burned.
A man charged with starting one of the wildfires in Spokane, Washington, that have destroyed hundreds of buildings planned the crime for weeks and researched when the weather would be best for igniting it, police said. In an interview after his arrest, Aaron Farinacci said “fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth,” Spokane County Detective Michael Drapeau wrote in a court filing Wednesday. Farinacci, 37, is charged with starting the Old Trails fire, one of three blazes in the Spokane area that have burned more than 850 buildings, destroying whole neighborhoods and streets. …Farinacci served about a decade in prison after killing his father in Mesa, Arizona, in 2010. He also shot himself. He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault. Farinacci’s lawyer repeatedly raised concerns about his mental health during the case.
