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The Tree Frog Forestry News
August 24, 2026
Category: Today's Takeaway
Hello early bird! We just want you to know that the news team is busy adding stories to this page. Be sure to check back at 9:00 am (PST) for the full line up of articles.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers agree to binding arbitration ending strike
By Canadian Pacific Kansas City
PR Newswire
August 21, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada
CALGARY, AB — Canadian Pacific Kansas City said today that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Canadian Signals and Communications System Council No. 11 (IBEW) has agreed to enter into binding arbitration and bring the strike initiated on May 31 to an end. The IBEW represents approximately 300 Signals & Communications employees across Canada. We welcome our employees back to work beginning Monday morning, Aug. 24.
Canada prepares a trade proposal to the U.S. as tariff deadline looms
By CTV News
You Tube
August 15, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States
Canada has prepared a trade proposal for the U.S. as new 50% tariffs loom, with talks intensifying ahead of the Aug. 19 deadline. Mike Le Couteur reports.
It’s one of the great paradoxes of B.C.’s declining forestry sector. Large forestry companies continue to divest from B.C. and shutter sawmills and pulp mills, largely due to a lack of access to affordable fibre. Meanwhile, in Coastal B.C., there seems to be plenty of timber available, mostly in the form of second growth. In 2025, only half of the 15 million cubic metres of the coastal available cut was harvested, according to the Truck Loggers Association. Nearly a third of that timber is owned or controlled by Coastal First Nations – about 4.6 million cubic metres. Iskum Investments, a consortium of 16 coastal First Nations, is looking to build a new, state-of-the-art sawmill capable of milling second growth hemlock and fir, at a cost of about $100 to $150 million. The consortium recruited Rick Doman to help them execute the plan, and recently received $1.3 million from Natural Resources Canada’s Indigenous Forestry Initiative to conduct a feasibility study.
Letter to Minister Hajdu for Urgent Action to Support Forestry Workers in Prince George, British Columbia
By Lana Payne, National President
Unifor Canada
August 18, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West
Dear Minister Hajdu, I request urgent action to support hundreds of forestry workers in Prince George, BC, who will be put out of work at the end of this year. Specifically, we are urgently requesting that the federal government make permanent or at least extend the Temporary Employment Insurance Measures, which are currently set to expire on October 10, 2026. On July 14, 2026, the Canfor Corporation announced the permanent closure of its Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, B.C., as of the fourth quarter of 2026. This closure will put 300 Canfor employees out of work, 244 of whom are members of Unifor Local 603. At the bare minimum, these affected workers deserve access to the Temporary Employment Insurance Measures whenever they are eventually laid off. …Unfortunately, forestry workers, their families, and forestry dependent communities across the country are paying the price for this ongoing series of crises, and they deserve urgent support from all levels of government.
Tolko cuts veneer production in Kamloops as fibre access tightens amid wildfires
By Kristen Holliday
Castanet
August 19, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West
Tolko Industries has indefinitely curtailed veneer production at its Heffley Creek mill in Kamloops, blaming wildfire and drought conditions that have restricted access to fibre. In an emailed statement to Castanet Kamloops, a Tolko spokesperson said employees at its Heffley Creek division were informed of the shutdown last week. “We recognize the impact this has on employees and their families. While conditions remain challenging, we are confident in the future of our business and are prepared to return these operations to full production as soon as fibre availability supports it,” the spokesperson said. Tolko said the temporary curtailment is due to challenging weather conditions, including drought and ongoing wildfires, which has made it difficult to conduct woodlands operations. “The curtailment timing is dependent on fibre accessibility and does not have a set schedule,” the spokesperson said.
Trump tariffs aren’t B.C. forestry’s biggest problem
By Jock Finlayson and Ken Peacock
Business in Vancouver
August 18, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West
It was recently reported that Interfor Corp., a B.C.-founded forest products company and one of North America’s largest lumber producers, is planning to relocate its head office operations from Metro Vancouver to Georgia. A couple of weeks earlier, Canfor Corp. announced the permanent closure of its Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George. These are only the latest in a long list of forestry operations that have closed or left British Columbia. According to the Council of Forest Industries (COFI), 23 mills have permanently closed since 2023. The latest reports suggest the count may now be approaching 30. Premier David Eby’s government has been quick to blame the shrinking B.C. forest industry on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. …But the deeper causes of the crisis in B.C. forestry lie closer to home. B.C. lumber production has been in steep decline for a decade or more. …That conclusion is reinforced by the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force…
Ontario Investing More Than $2 Million to Unlock Global Markets for Made-in-Ontario Forest Products
By Natural Resources
Government of Ontario
August 19, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East
GOLDEN LAKE — The Ontario government is investing over $2.1 million in four projects to increase forest sector competitiveness and drive innovative uses for mill by-products and underused wood known as forest biomass. As part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario and build a competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy, these investments will position the forest sector to unlock new markets, bolster supply chains and protect good-paying jobs. “Our government is helping forest sector businesses build international reach and bring competitive products to market,” said Kevin Holland, Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products. “Under our forest sector roadmap, we’re driving the industry’s continued growth and showcasing Ontario’s capacity as a G7 leader in innovative manufacturing.” Associate Minister Holland made the announcement at Ben Hokum and Son, which is receiving over $1.9 million to install two biomass-assisted steam kilns… These investments are delivering on the government’s Roadmap to Protecting Ontario’s Forest Sector
Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association agenda for Association of Municipalities of Ontario
By James Murray
The Net News Ledger
August 16, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East
THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association leaders are in Ottawa as the 2026 Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference opens Sunday, Aug. 16, with highways, housing, forestry, workforce shortages and critical minerals among the region’s major advocacy priorities. …NOMA plans to advocate for immigration programs and workforce policies designed to better address labour shortages in Northwestern Ontario. For communities attempting to expand mining, forestry, construction, health care, municipal services and other industries, the ability to attract and retain workers is increasingly tied to economic growth. …NOMA will also put the forest sector before government decision-makers, arguing for measures that maintain the competitiveness of Northwestern Ontario producers while responding to international trade pressures. Forestry remains particularly important outside Thunder Bay, where mills and forestry operations can be among a community’s largest private-sector employers and contributors to the municipal tax base.
Merkley, Wyden Announce More Than $15 Million in Federal Grants to Support Oregon Wood Product Industry, Rural Economies, Jobs
Ron Wyden Senator for Oregon
August 17, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: US West
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is investing $15,091,037 in 20 wood innovations projects in Oregon that support active management of national forests and grasslands, promote wood and energy infrastructure by increasing manufacturing capacity and operational efficiencies, and support rural economic prosperity and jobs. This federal funding is critical to ensuring the state’s leadership in the wood products industry, while helping to restore healthy forests and reduce wildfire risk. …These investments in Oregon are part of a broader suite of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s USFS Wood Innovations Program grants for public, private, and non-profit sectors, totaling $105.5 million for projects across the country this year.
Could foam made from wood waste replace plastic packaging? UBC researchers think so
CBC News
August 20, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West
William Dennis and Dr. Yeling Zhu
B.C. researchers have created a pulpy alternative to plastic packaging foam, a product that makes use of logging waste that’s often left behind and can fuel forest fires. Dubbed “wood foam,” the plastic packaging alternative was developed at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and up to 200 kilograms a day is being produced at a pilot plant in East Vancouver. The company at the helm, DicinFoam, is majority owned by the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s business arm. “We’ve made it from low-value pulp, wood fibres, and forestry residues,” said Yale Zhu, the company’s chief technology officer. “What we’re trying to do is we want to extract the majority of the value out of it and make it into our day-to-day packaging needs.” Zhu said the goal is to create a substitute to polystyrene, or packaging foam, which is among plastic pollutants found on Canadian shorelines, harbours or recreational areas, and shipping routes.
A new museum for Indigenous art will combine mass timber construction, flexible gallery space, and environmental systems designed to reduce emissions. The concept for the Museum of Aboriginal Peoples’ Art and Artifacts on the Portage College campus in Lac La Biche, Alta., was recently unveiled. The museum will house the world’s largest collection of works by the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., a First Nations artists’ collective formed in Winnipeg in 1973. Designed by SPECTACLE Bureau for Architecture and Urbanism Inc., the building will use a superstructure made predominantly from locally and sustainably sourced mass timber. A signature exterior feature is the kinetic wood screen with vertical slats that hinge at the top. The slats will move with the wind, providing shade and creating a sheltered route for visitors. …A wooden deck will provide gathering space for up to 60 people.
Three weeks remain to register for the WoodTALKS at the GBM. As an architect, you have the ambition, your clients have the vision. The missing piece is the connection with trusted manufacturers that will provide the materials, technical guidance, and performance that your projects demand. This is where the Global Buyers Mission comes in! Highlights you can expect for $395: Earn 10+ LUs. Three days of networking. Three days of leaning. Site tours and presentations with meals and transportation included. See the full schedule at the Read More link below.
See inside The Hive, where bold design meets seismic performance
naturally:wood
August 20, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West
The Hive at 2150 Keith Drive in Vancouver is one of the most seismically advanced mass timber projects in North America. The building features nine levels of mass timber construction, sitting atop a concrete base, with a honeycomb structure of diagonally oriented braces arranged in a cellular pattern. The building’s design uses a perimeter-braced structural system that creates a striking exterior expression and eliminates the need for conventional cast-in-place concrete cores. A mass timber structure for all floors above Level 2; a series of timber shear walls in the interior and a series of structural braces at the exterior resist the wind and seismic load. Exposed wood is a major feature of the building’s interior design. The use of mass timber is complemented by a palette of earth-toned materials, including composite metal panels, wood soffits and abundant glazing. A perfect pairing for the views of the North Shore mountains and downtown Vancouver skyline.
In the August Wood Connections newsletter, you’ll find these headlines and more:
BC Wood Specialties Group 2026 Annual General Meeting:Whistler Conference Centre | Thursday, September 10th, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM. BC Wood invites all manufacturing members to attend.
BC Wood Specialties Group Receives $5,280,480 in funding from the Government of Canada through PacifiCan’s Regional Tariff Response Initiative
Last Chance to Register for the 2026 Global Buyers Mission: Showcase your products in Whistler this September, secure your booth and complete your registration today — we only have 1 booth space left.
The WoodTALKS Lunch & Learn program gives manufacturers a valuable opportunity to share knowledge, expertise, and practical solutions through engaging accredited presentations. BC value-added wood manufacturers are invited to apply to present an accredited WoodTALKS Lunch & Learn session and connect directly with architects who influence product specification and project decisions.
The UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing has announced the schedule for the 2027 Industrial Wood Finishing Certificate Program and the 2027 Design for Manufacturing and Assembly workshop.
Mass Timber Acoustic Design: Variables and Solutions
WoodWorks – Wood Products Council
August 21, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States
Join us for a webinar exploring real-world acoustical performance data for mass timber floor and wall assemblies—and how the results compare with conventional construction. With Mike Raley, Oregon Acoustic Research Laboratory, we’ll examine measured airborne and structure-borne sound isolation, then explore practical strategies for improving acoustical performance through assembly design and targeted detailing. Mass timber construction is often perceived as acoustically inferior to conventional construction types, particularly in multi-family buildings subject to code-mandated sound transmission requirements. These perceptions often lead to design approaches that increase assembly mass—most commonly by adding concrete toppings, which can diminish the embodied carbon benefits of mass timber systems. This course evaluates the validity of these assumptions through a review of measured baseline acoustical performance data for mass timber assemblies and comparisons with conventional construction types. The presentation introduces the principles of sound transmission and isolation to provide a framework for understanding acoustical behavior in building assemblies… September 9 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Wood Innovation Grant Awarded to Accelerate the Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative
By the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Michigan State University
August 18, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: US East
A new U.S. Forest Service wood innovation grant will enable Dovetail Partners, MassTimber@MSU (Michigan State University), and Team Pennsylvania to accelerate the next phase of the Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative (GLMTC). The multi‑state effort advances mass timber markets, manufacturing capacity, and forest‑health‑aligned wood products across the region. The award is part of the Forest Service’s national investment of $105.5 million in wood innovation, community wood, and wood products infrastructure grants… The Wood Innovations Grant Program is investing in proposals that expand traditional wood utilization projects, promote the use of wood as a construction material in commercial, institutional and multifamily buildings, and expand wood energy markets. …The Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative … brings together leaders from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York to build a coordinated regional mass timber economy. More than 100 participants convened in April 2026 to mark the release of the Collaborative’s Regional Vision
Mass timber military housing prototypes under development
Woodworking Network
August 18, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Auburn engineers are working with the U.S. Air Force to redesign deployable military housing using mass timber, with the goal of creating temporary barracks-style structures that can be assembled faster and perform better in cold-weather environments. Led by Auburn Engineering, the project combines structural design, materials testing and prototype development with architecture and building science… Battelle, an applied science and technology organization, is partnering with the Air Force to build prototypes. The work focuses on improving structures traditionally built with light wood-frame construction, similar to conventional residential framing. While effective, that approach can require several days of on-site assembly and additional measures to withstand harsh climates. …Roueche said the Air Force needs temporary housing that can be transported, assembled and occupied quickly. Mass timber gives the team a way to meet that need by shifting more work into prefabrication, reducing on-site assembly time and improving thermal performance for cold-weather deployments.
Wildfire season tracking to be Canada’s 4th worst on record
By Nick Murray
The Canadian Press in the Victoria Times Colonist
August 19, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada
Canada is on track for its fourth worst wildfire season on record. At a regular fire briefing in Ottawa Tuesday, federal forecasters said September’s fire risk stands to be well above seasonal averages across northern British Columbia, northern Quebec and most of Labrador. So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 40,000 square kilometres … marking the first time in history that forest has burned for four years in a row in Canada. A wildfire destroyed around 150 homes, barns and other buildings in B.C.’s south Okanagan this month. In July, a fire also destroyed much of Namaygoosisagagun, also known as Collins First Nation, 250 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. That fire merged with others in the area and became the largest wildfire ever recorded in Ontario, spanning more than 3,500 square kilometres. Yet the number of requests for federal assistance related to wildfires dropped dramatically this year, government officials told reporters at a technical briefing.
When Donald Trump says Canada is mismanaging its forests, many Canadians instinctively dismiss the comment. …But that would be too easy — not because clearing dead trees and brush never makes sense, but because Trump’s call to “rake the forest” turns a complex problem into a simplistic slogan… Managing a forest that stretches across nearly a third of the country is far more complex than the soundbite would suggest. The real question Canadians should be asking is, “Are we managing our forests in ways that can make catastrophic wildfires more likely and more intense?” The uncomfortable answer is yes. Canada’s wildfire crisis is being fuelled by two converging forces: a changing climate and decades of decisions about how we manage forests and fire. …Trump speaks in soundbites not science, so it can be hard to take him seriously. But that doesn’t mean Canada shouldn’t seize the opportunity to have a serious conversation about forest management…
Canada’s out-of-control wildfire crisis is cooking up a future nobody wants to live in
By Barry Saxifrage
National Observer
August 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada
Canadian forests are getting cooked by our fossil fuel pollution, unleashing a rapidly intensifying wildfire crisis. Most summers used to be calm, low-fire seasons when Canadians could peacefully enjoy our lakes, woods and mountains. As we will see, those low-fire years have become vanishingly rare because we’ve burned away the cooler, calmer climate that made them possible. Most summers in Canada now are choking, high-fire endurance events. As we will also see, we now suffer through more wildfires in our average year than during our very worst years in decades past. And our worst years have turned dystopian. If we don’t stop overheating our forests, the wildfire crisis will continue to spiral out of control. …Are humans causing the wildfire surge in Canada’s unmanaged forests? Yes. Our fossil fuel emissions now permeate every cubic millimetre of the atmosphere… We are cooking up a dystopian future overwhelmed by megafires.
Mosaic Invests in New Wildfire detection Technology Atop Nanaimo’s Mount Benson
Mosaic Forest Management
August 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
New smoke detection cameras are now on alert for wildfires. The first of its kind on Vancouver Island, Mosaic Forest Management has installed the cameras in Nanaimo on Mount Benson to help identify the start of nearby wildfires earlier and faster, day or night. The technology uses cameras with 360-degree coverage and up to 50 kilometres of range to continuously scan the landscape, automatically zooming in when a potential smoke plume is detected. The system can distinguish between smoke, clouds and fog and between different kinds of fires like a campfire. Detection to verification takes minutes before an alert is sent to Mosaic, where it’s reviewed by an internal team before BC Wildfire Service is notified so a response can be mobilized. …The system was developed by SenseNet, a Canadian company based in Vancouver. …nearby landowners stand to benefit as well. Any alert the camera generates, regardless of whose land it’s on, will be passed to BC Wildfire Service.
Lil’wat Forestry points to nearby gunfire after alleged wildfire hazard violation
By Luke Paulks
Pique News Magazine
August 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Klay Tindall
Lil’wat Forestry Ventures (LFV) is urging recreational shooters to be cautious around forestry operations after nearby gunfire allegedly prevented crews from addressing a wildfire hazard. An Aug. 1 Natural Resource Officer inspection record for an LFV site in the South Coast region identified alleged non-compliance related to fire-hazard abatement. LFV general manager Klay Tindall said inspectors identified slash piles above Rutherford Creek that the company had intended to burn last fall, before stray gunfire from across the creek forced them off-site. … Under B.C.’s current violation-ticket schedule, failing to abate a fire hazard under Section 7(2) carries a $1,000 fine plus a $150 victim surcharge, for a total ticket amount of $1,150. …Tindall said no fine had been issued to LFV as of his Aug. 17 interview with Pique. …LFV has since explained the circumstances surrounding the unburned piles to the natural resource officer, Tindall said, and does not view the enforcement matter as a major concern.
Province rejects private wilderness camp in East Sooke Regional Park
By Darron Kloster
Victoria Times Colonist
August 21, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
The province has rejected a leasing application by a private wilderness survival school operator to set up camp within East Sooke Regional Park. Vitaliy Svetlichnyy, owner of One With Nature outdoor survival school, had applied two years ago to lease a 71-hectare parcel of Crown land inside the borders of East Sooke Park to build and operate his school. The proposal included an intensive-use area of about five hectares for several permanent structures … and a dock on the waterfront and storage buildings. Svetlichnyy was asking for a lease of 10 to 30 years on the land and foreshore, but his proposals caused a widespread outcry from local government and the public who said private operators should not be allowed in parks. In his decision, Peter Warbuton, senior licensed authorizations officer for the province, said the proposed long-term commercial use, infrastructure development and exclusive occupation were incompatible with the existing conservation, recreation and stewardship objectives of the area.
Save the Date: 2027 Sustainable Forestry Initiative Annual Conference
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
August 21, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Mark your calendars! SFI is excited to announce that the 2027 SFI Annual Conference will be held from April 13-15, in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia. As in the past, the event will provide a forum for conversations on innovative solutions to local, national, and global environmental challenges, including supply chain transparency, biodiversity conservation, and climate resiliency. Leaders from across the forest and sustainability sectors–representing manufacturers, forest managers and owners, Indigenous communities, government agencies, universities, and conservation organizations will convene to advance sustainability through forest-focused collaboration. This year will feature greater focus on practical implementation on the ground and in our communities, through concurrent sessions and training workshops that give conference participants more choice and the ability to dive deeper into subjects of interest. Registration will open later this fall but save the date now!
BC Wildfire Service explains structure fire policy following Houston home loss
By Rod Link
The Northern View
August 19, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
The BC Wildfire Service has outlined its policies regarding responses to house and structure fires following a fire that destroyed Ric and Shirley Martin’s Balsam Road home outside Houston on Aug. 5, 2026. An initial BCWS attack crew did respond, but that was to assess and address any risk of the fire spreading into surrounding forested areas, the service said. “Wildland firefighters are trained to respond to wildfires and other incidents involving vegetation and organic fuels. They are not trained or equipped to respond to fires involving structures or other non-organic materials,” the service stated. “Structural firefighters are trained and equipped to respond to structure fires and to protect and defend properties and infrastructure in the wildland urban interface.” …“In the case of the Balsam Road fire, BC Wildfire Service personnel were present to monitor and address any wildfire risk associated with the incident, while structural fire suppression responsibilities remained with the appropriate local fire response agencies.”
As fires continue to bear down on B.C., officials are developing an “all-of-society” approach to build community resilience, bringing together FireSmart programs, risk reduction work and the forest sector, according to Forests Minister Ravi Parmar. “I’ve asked my ministry to take a lot of the different pots of money that we have and develop an all-of-society approach,” Parmar said during a Tuesday press conference. He said the approach would include building a “working forest” with resilience as a core part of that work, along with broader efforts to help communities FireSmart their properties and neighbourhoods. Parmar said the province will provide more details later this week. He said that approach is already well rooted in the Okanagan and that he plans to continue conversations with the West Kelowna fire chief and mayor when he travels to the valley next week.
Lennard Joe says British Columbia needs a fuller forestry conversation
By Ian Biana
Resource Works
August 18, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Lennard Joe
Lennard (Suxʷsxʷwels) Joe speaks about forestry as someone shaped by it long before he led an organization. Joe, CEO of the B.C. First Nations Forestry Council, brings more than 30 years of natural resource and business experience to the role. A Registered Professional Forester [he] was among the first dozen Indigenous graduates of UBC’s forestry school. That background helps explain why he speaks of forestry not only as an industry, but as a responsibility. …Rural B.C. still depends on forests in ways many city residents no longer see, and Joe’s sharpest message for urban audiences was clear on that. …He talks about how forests anchor local economies and support the services many communities rely on… But he also pushed back against the idea that forestry is only about extraction. …As First Nations take on a greater ownership role in forestry, Joe believes the sector can move toward longer-term investment, stronger stewardship and broader community benefit.
Alberta Forest Products Association Community Newsletter
Alberta Forest Products Association
August 19, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
In this newsletter you’ll find these headlines and more:
Keeping Alberta Wood Moving: Over the last year and a half, escalating U.S. trade barriers have added to an already challenging operating environment. …we have been working on every front available to us—but we haven’t been doing it alone. We have taken Alberta’s forestry story directly to decision-makers… We’ve joined trade missions… We’ve worked to make sure forestry’s story is heard… There is one thing that we know for sure: our forest community is strongest when we speak together.
Work Wild has been busy growing and thriving as a leading forestry education program in Alberta. This year, our new website and interactive forestry career resources have sparked excitement across the province.
Our 84th AGM & Conference will take place from September 23-25th. We are excited to welcome guests to Jasper Park Lodge.
‘Radically different’: What deer overabundance has done to Gulf Island flora
By Hope Lompe
Victoria Times Colonist
August 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Tara Martin
Growing up on Salt Spring Island, Tara Martin, associate professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia, saw plenty of the wildflowers, Garry oak meadows and understory plants that used to thrive on the southern Gulf Islands only a few decades ago. Over the last 50 years, however, the population of native black-tailed deer has exploded across the islands, eating their way through natural plant vegetation and tree saplings. Martin, who has studied the impact of deer populations on the Gulf Islands for 20 years, says younger generations have no concept of how lush and diverse the islands were, and what was lost. …After looking at a range of options, Martin has concluded that hunting is the most effective and least-costly solution to keeping deer populations down. …Learning to be comfortable with predators on islands is also important, she says, adding that even allowing one or two would help.
Evacuated Peachland advocate warns wildfires expose water risks from logging
By Barry Gerding
Creston Valley Advance
August 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
As an advocate for protecting the Peachland watershed water supply, Taryn Skalbania is used to publicly challenging the provincial government’s policies and guidelines governing logging in the forestry sector. But another challenge confronted her with the rapid growth of the Bald Range wildfire, as she faced an evacuation order at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, from her Princeton Avenue hobby farm just inside the eastern municipal boundary of Peachland. …Skalbania also picked up on comments from Penticton Indian Band chief Greg Gabriel at a press conference in Penticton last Wednesday that included Premier David Eby, calling for the need to examine the forestry sector and logging practices as culprits of drought and massive forest fires. Regarding the recent preponderance of wildfires on the west side of Okanagan Lake, she cited logging was one of several factors playing a role in that occurrence.
Keeping more of Vancouver Island’s forest value at home
By Christopher Justice, councillor, Municipality of North Cowichan
The Lake Cowichan Gazette
August 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Christopher Justice
Vancouver Island has supplied British Columbia with world-class timber for generations, yet too much of the economic value created from our forests leaves the Island along with the logs rather than generating jobs, investment, and long-term prosperity in the communities where those trees are grown. …Yet these challenges also present an opportunity to build a stronger, more resilient forest economy by creating the conditions to keep more of our raw logs at home and transform them into higher-value products that strengthen Vancouver Island’s forestry communities. Achieving that vision will require the Province of British Columbia to work in partnership with local governments, First Nations, value-added wood manufacturers, workers, labour organizations, educational institutions, and others to develop a Vancouver Island Value-Added Wood Manufacturing Strategy. …The objective of a Vancouver Island Value-Added Wood Manufacturing Strategy is straightforward: create greater economic value from every tree harvested on Vancouver Island.
Let’s hear the conversation about what forests can do for us
Letter by Ed Morrice
The Prince George Citizen
August 16, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Ed Morrice
[Writing in response to July 23 editorial Look to the future when good news follows bad] Yes, forestry is in transition, but the current wildfire situation illustrates the absolute need for forest management that can only exist with a strong forest industry. Sure it will be different but it needs a leader to ensure we don’t just give into easy investment that abandons thoughtful forest management to development of oil and gas and mining extractive industries. We have run out of access to big legacy trees but are awash in growing timber. If it isn’t managed much of it will burn and destabilize other resource sectors. Who wants to invest in a place where wildfire is a major disrupter? Let’s hear the conversation about what forests can do for us, not put it on a back burner to become a future problem. Those conversations are happening. How about The Citizen bring us that story? [END]
Concern raised with ‘firebomb’ piles from mitigation work at Salmon Arm park
By Lachlan Labere
The Vernon Morning Star
August 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Salmon Arm Deputy Fire Chief Carmen Guidos was called in by council to help extinguish concern wildfire fuel mitigation work done at the Park Hill trail system has exacerbated the fire risk. On the agenda for city council’s May 10 meeting was a letter from resident Stig Keskinen regarding the timing of the city’s ongoing wildfire fuel mitigation program that saw work done along the Park Hill trails in May and June. In the letter, Keskinen posits this is not the time of year to do such work. One reason for this are the resulting “dozens of piles” of forest debris now drying throughout the trail system. …Keskinen wanted to know when they would be dealt with ….Guidos confirmed that is the plan, to burn in the fall – similar to what was done with the wildfire mitigation work at Little Mountain.
Extreme fire weather is B.C.’s ‘new reality,’ this scientist says. That doesn’t make these blazes ‘normal’
By Francesca Fionda
The Narwhal
August 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Mike Flannigan
…Global experts are calling extreme fire weather our “new normal”. But as fire scientist Mike Flannigan looks at B.C.’s wildfires of the past, he rejects the term. “We’re moving into uncharted territory. This is our new reality. Some people might say ‘normal,’ but to me, normal sounds like a plateau. We’re on a trajectory, and it’s downward.” Flannigan is a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops whose expertise has earned him the BC Innovation Research Chair in predictive services, emergency management and fire Science. He’s been studying fire for decades. He recently spoke to The Narwhal from Kamloops and shared some data that showed a dramatic increase in area burned across the province in the last 10 years compared to the previous six decades. We asked him to break down what this all means for the future of wildfires in B.C. and the country.
Prototype launched at Timmins balloon base could help prevent forest fires
By Lydia Chubak
CTV News Vancouver Island
August 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East
A team developing an aerospace and environmental project based in Montreal is currently working at the Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base, testing its technology. The SAFARI-APEX project team from Montreal’s École de technologie supérieure has developed a prototype that uses cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor forests from above. The system is designed to spot conditions that could make an area more vulnerable to fire before one actually starts. Serguei Markov, an IT engineer and one of the people behind the project said the system analyzes factors such as vegetation, soil and humidity — information that could help focus fire prevention efforts where the risk is highest. …A prototype, called Borealis, was sent into the atmosphere on a Canadian Space Agency stratospheric balloon in Timmins.
Lumber companies should be allowed to clear-cut around towns to prevent forest fires
Letter by Richard Woodward
North Bay Today
August 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East
Forest fires are ravaging the country again this summer. My heart goes out to those who have lost family members, homes, their way of life, and pets. The dangers first responders face and the health issues caused by smoke are scary. …The areas hardest hit by the forest fires are pristine areas where environmentalists stand fast on protecting the area in its natural state. Tall conifer trees with dry needles and dead branches on the ground provide fuel and allow fire to jump from treetop to treetop. If lumber companies were allowed to clear-cut for miles around towns and fast-growing deciduous trees were allowed to grow and be supported, a forest would return in 5-10 years with trees that greatly reduce the chance of fire spread.
Would you shoot one large, beautiful owl to save a few large, beautiful owls of a different species? Would you shoot a few hundred thousand owls? Back in 2021, the findings of long-term research by a group of scientists showed that northern spotted owls benefitted when the numbers of competing barred owls was reduced. This was not surprising. Barred owls, cousins to the spotted owl, are larger, more aggressive, and more willing and able to use habitats other than old-growth forests, which spotted owls prefer. In 1990, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the northern spotted owl—there are California and Mexican subspecies, too—as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because of declines in the owl’s old-forest habitats. The Northwest Forest Plan, adopted in 1994, dramatically reduced the rate of logging of old-growth forests on federal lands in the Pacific Northwest.
World Forestry Center film explores why wildfires are growing and what communities can do
By Libby Dowsett
KGW8 News
August 19, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West
PORTLAND, Oregon — Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest are getting worse every year. The World Forestry Center in Washington Park recently unveiled a new immersive, five-screen theater experience that puts viewers in the middle of some of the world’s most destructive wildfires. The film examines the connections between wildfires, climate change and forest management, while encouraging viewers to become part of the conversation about how communities respond to increasingly intense fires. “The wildfires in California in 2020 are estimated to have erased 16 years of all the carbon offsets in that state, twice over, in one wildfire season,” said Joseph Furia, executive director and president of the World Forestry Center. Furia said wildfire mitigation is changing, particularly as fires grow larger and smoke spreads farther into populated areas. …The immersive experience is designed to leave visitors with a better understanding of how forests may need to change as wildfire conditions evolve.
Proposed change coming to the Northwest Forest plan
By Ken McCall US Forest Service, Retired
Curry Coastal Pilot
August 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West
The United States Forest Service is proposing to amend the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) to allow cutting older trees across the western portion of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. As a fifth generation native of the west coast, I have spent a lifetime in these forests as a private citizen and a 40 plus year career as a U.S. Forest Service employee specializing in forestry and forest engineering. The primary proposed change in the 19.4 million acres of forestlands is to allow cutting trees up to 120 years old compared to 80 years in the current plan. Conservatively speaking, 90 or more percent of the old growth forests in the NWFP area were clearcut in the logging and road building boom from 1950 to the mid 1990’s. …The U.S. Forest Service likely lacks the experienced staff needed to carry out the proposed increase in timber harvest. Years of NWFP implementation, combined with recent federal workforce reductions, have significantly weakened the agency’s institutional knowledge.
Oregon’s wildfire costs continue to climb this season, officials say
By Carlos Fuentes
The Oregonian
August 19, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West
Wildfires in Oregon have cost the state nearly $240 million this year, state officials said this week, a figure that is expected to climb as fires continue burning across the region. Some of that will eventually be reimbursed by the federal government, but that process can take years, officials say. In the long term, this wildfire season will cost Oregon’s fire marshal and forestry agencies more than $160 million, according to a Monday email to state lawmakers from Kate Denison, interim deputy legislative director for Gov. Tina Kotek. When totaling expenses for all governments for large wildfires, the true cost is approaching $800 million and may ultimately be significantly higher, according to one agency. Officials note that wildfire cost estimates change day-to-day as more expenses are reported and numerous governments coordinate coverage and spending. Total costs may not be known for months.
Climate change is reshaping Western forests — and the water and fire risks they face
By Kaleb Roedel
KUNR Public Radio
August 18, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West
As the climate warms, some mountain trees are moving higher up, while others are spreading downhill. Scientists say something inside the trees may explain why. And that split could reshape watersheds and wildfire risk. For years, scientists have expected mountain trees to move upslope in search of cooler conditions. But a new global study found nearly one-third of tree species are moving downhill instead. That matters because where trees grow can affect how forests burn and how much water they soak up before it flows downstream to rural communities, cities and farms. So why are some trees moving in one direction while others head the other way? The answer may lie in how trees move water. Tim Rademacher, a researcher at the University of Vermont and a co-author of the study, says some species can move water quickly and efficiently, helping them grow. But that efficiency comes with a cost.
…Washington has been developing new wildfire safety regulations for several years, including building codes for homes constructed in risky areas and rules for managing plants and vegetation. But restrictions that affect people’s homes and gardens can be unpopular. After public pushback, state legislators backtracked and repealed some of the requirements. Other Western states have also struggled to pass wildfire regulations affecting homeowners’ properties. While flood risk is managed by the federal government, wildfire regulations are up to state and local governments. The result is a patchwork of rules. …In 2024, Washington passed a bill ordering state regulators to produce new wildfire hazard maps, with fewer rules that would be enforced. …As a result of public pushback, Oregon repealed its wildfire rules last year. …Still, a number of Western states don’t have statewide wildfire rules and codes, or even maps identifying high risk areas.
The Babylon Fire left flood and erosion risks that could last for years. Here’s how forest managers can reduce those risks.
By Andrew Christiansen
The Salt Lake Tribune
August 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West
The Babylon Fire left parts of the burned landscape more vulnerable to flooding, erosion and debris flows, with increased runoff and erosion likely to recur intermittently for five to 10 years as the landscape recovers. The Forest Service’s newly released Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) report recommends emergency work to reduce those risks, including road-drainage improvements, debris racks at culverts, warning signs, closures and stabilization at old mine sites. Although the most severe soil damage covered only 5% of the area assessed, the report identified five drainages with the highest potential for debris flows. The lightning-caused Babylon Fire started June 26 in the Abajo Mountains about 25 miles southwest of Monticello and burned across parts of Elk Ridge, Dark Canyon Wilderness and Bears Ears National Monument within the Manti-La Sal National Forest. …The report says ground cover typically takes three to five years to re-establish and can take up to 10 years, particularly if drought persists.
Wildfires and drought challenge wildlife across Colorado: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Kiowa County Press
August 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West
Drought and wildfires are straining wildlife and the habitats they depend on across Colorado, prompting Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to closely monitor habitat conditions as animals face increased stress in their search for food, water and shelter. Wildfires rapidly alter ecosystems by removing vegetation that provides food and cover for wildlife. While ecosystems are adapted to periodic fire and will recover over time, large wildfires may reduce habitat quality, displace animals and increase competition for limited resources. Species unable to relocate quickly or that rely on specialized habitats are especially vulnerable this summer. …CPW is adjusting hunting and fishing season structures and license quotas in areas affected by wildfire damage, closing boating ramps during extreme drought conditions, and establishing voluntary and mandatory fishing closures to help sustain healthy habitats and wildlife populations. …Give wildlife extra space and respect area closures. Do not feed wildlife; let them find natural food sources.
Building Partnerships to Protect Forest Biodiversity in Mississippi
By Brenda Martin
Domtar Corporation
August 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East
Chad Robertson, Senior Coordinator, Raw Material is the on-the-ground connection for a new partnership Domtar has begun with NatureServe. The partnership will help us protect forest biodiversity in Mississippi. Chad is based at the Amory Chip Mill in Mississippi. The wood chips produced at Amory are barged along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to the Tennessee River and then the Ohio River to Domtar’s Hawesville Mill in Kentucky. The Hawesville Mill makes communication papers and southern bleached hardwood pulp used in tissue and towel, and printing and writing papers. The goal is to turn complex, dense information about at-risk species and ecosystems into practical guidance that forestry professionals, landowners and loggers can use in the field. This work makes it easier to identify and protect important habitats which is an important part of responsible forest management and sustainable fiber sourcing. The current project is focused on the whole of Mississippi’s working forest.
Proposed repeal of ‘Roadless Rule’ could open Michigan national forests to logging, roadbuilding
By Jon King
Michigan Advance
August 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East
Thousands of acres of currently protected national forest land in Michigan could be opened to road construction and logging under a proposal from the U.S. Forest Service to rescind a 25-year-old rule. The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which restricts road construction and timber harvesting in designated roadless areas, currently protects about 16,000 acres of roadless forest land across the Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha and Ottawa national forests in Michigan. They are among nearly 45 million acres of inventoried roadless areas nationwide which would see protections eliminated under the proposal to rescind the rule, filed Wednesday for publication in the Federal Register. “For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement. Environmental advocates dispute that assertion and say new roads would actually increase opportunities for human-caused fires.
Society of American Foresters honors four forestry faculty members
By Chris Moody
Virginia Tech
August 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East
John Munsell, John Seiler, Jen Gagnon, & Carolyn Copenheaver
The Society of American Foresters has been impressed by the work within the College of Natural Resources and Environment, naming four faculty members from the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation as recipients of the organization’s annual awards. John Munsell, professor and extension specialist, will receive the Carl Alwin Schenck Award, one of SAF’s highest honors for excellence in forestry education. …Professor John Seiler will receive the Barrington Moore Memorial Award in Biological Science, which recognizes outstanding contributions to biological science research that advances forestry. …Jennifer Gagnon, coordinator of the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program, will receive the SAF Technology Transfer Award, which recognizes leaders who effectively translate scientific knowledge into practical information that benefits forestry professionals, landowners, and communities. …Professor Carolyn Copenheaver was named an SAF Fellow, a prestigious award that recognizes an SAF member for long-standing service to forestry at the local, state, and national levels.
The future of logging and conservation is one and the same
by Jonathan Leibowitz and Robert T. Perschel
VT Digger
August 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East
The closure of Finch Paper’s pulp mill in Glens Falls, New York, is a blow that will echo across the Northeast for years. For loggers, truckers, foresters and woodlot landowners, this is not some distant threat to worry about in the future. It is — today — lost income, lost markets for wood and the continuing fraying of a way of life. One of us has spent a career in forestry; the other leads a wilderness protection organization. …we both understand a truth: The amount of land we can set aside as wilderness depends on how well we manage the rest of the forest and thus the health of the timber industry. Both wildlands and managed woodlands are needed. …Put simply, wilderness advocates should be rooting for a thriving forest economy. And loggers should welcome a network of wildlands that keeps large forest blocks whole … and models the full range of what these forests can be.
Tiny, beautiful species are going missing from restored forests and wetlands
By Emily Chung
CBC News
August 16, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: International
Ellen Macdonald
A regrown forest can look tall, lush and green. Restored wetlands can buzz with insects. But scientists are finding that some of their smallest inhabitants — including certain mosses, lichens, algae and fungi — are often still missing. Restoring habitats such as forests and wetlands can save declining species of animals and plants and help their populations bounce back. But recent research shows they don’t all return at the same rate. Some of the smallest, least noticeable inhabitants can remain rare or absent for decades — with potential consequences for other species. Ellen Macdonald, a University of Alberta botanist, has spent her career studying forests, focusing on tiny flowers, mosses, liverworts and lichens, among tree roots or on the textured surfaces of bark. …The study, published recently in the journal Nature Sustainability, found that birch and aspen forests and their inhabitants appeared to recover within 25 years, while conifer forests took far longer.
Dark boreal forests of Canada absorb enough heat to cancel up to a fifth of their climate benefit, scientists warn
By United Nations University
EurekAlert!
August 20, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada – Dense evergreen plantations in Canada’s boreal forest absorb so much winter sunlight that the resulting surface warming can offset 6 to 20 percent of the climate benefit they are credited with. Canada’s current carbon accounting frameworks measure the carbon stored but largely omit the heat absorbed by these forests, according to a new Policy Brief from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The result is inflated mitigation estimates and public investment in forests that may not deliver the cooling they promise. The Policy Brief “From Carbon Accounting to Net Cooling: Securing the Albedo-Carbon Double Win in Canada’s Boreal Forest” argues that Canada should judge reforestation by its net effect on temperature rather than by tonnes of carbon stored. “Canada has an opportunity here that few countries have,” said Professor Kaveh Madani, Director of UNU-INWEH.
Concerns grow over ‘green’ biomass power in Japan after spate of accidents
By Nithin Coca
Mongabay
August 17, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International
For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity might not be safe. In the past few years, there have been at least 14 fires, explosions and accidents at biomass power plants across Japan. These incidents, combined with rising prices, pollution concerns and growing opposition are leading some to question the future of Japan’s large-scale biomass plants, an estimated 34 of which produce 3.5 gigawatts of power. …in the rush to expand plants, corners may have been cut, including improper construction and substandard storage and processing of wood pellets, says Roger Smith, Japan director at nonprofit Mighty Earth.
The Arctic boreal forests are burning: Here’s why this matters to the world
By Erin Harrington, Brendan Rogers, and Natalie Çilem
The World Economic Forum
August 17, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International
Almost 4 million hectares of land burned across Canada during this summer’s fire season, much of it in the remote boreal forests. …some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing wildfires now occur in the Arctic and boreal region, across eight countries to form a ring around the North Pole and making up the world’s largest biome. Primarily triggered by lightning strikes and exacerbated by global warming, which is warming the Arctic boreal forests at up to four times the global average, these fires are becoming a major source of worldwide carbon emissions. …Arctic and boreal regions store an immense amount of carbon. Boreal forests alone house roughly two-thirds of global forest carbon. …Protecting the boreal from wildfire is not only about safeguarding northern communities and ecosystems. It is an essential part of tackling climate change, protecting public health and building resilience for a warming world.
We invite you to share your ideas for policy projects for our Policy, Regulation and Research Department to consider when developing proposals for the 2027–2029 Policy Workplans. These workplans set out policy priorities with respect to compensation for injuries, death, and occupational disease; employer assessment; and occupational health and safety. Information on policy projects underway and recently completed, as well as details on how to provide feedback, can be found here: Policy Workplans. You’re invited to provide feedback until 4:30 p.m., Friday, September 11, 2026. WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors will consider feedback before making a decision on the workplans.
BC Wildfire update includes smoky air tips from Dr Henry
By Mary Brooke
Island Social Trends
August 18, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West
Three BC ministries — Health, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, and Forests — provided an update on on wildfire and smoke conditions in British Columbia. This is the first wildfire season update that has included Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry. … Effects of wildfire smoke can be felt even at a distance from the fires, said Dr Bonnie Henry in her opening remarks. Children are more affected because their lung are small relative to their body weight. Smoky air can result in throat irritation, headaches, cough and runny eyes which Dr Henry called “short term effects”. But she says she has “concerns” about long term effects, including how very small PM2.5 particles of from smoke and soot get deep into the lungs and infiltrate to other parts of the body. …She highlighted an announcement that N95 masks are being provided free in BC wildfire zones, through the Canadian Red Cross with federal funding.
The Government of Canada provides an update regarding the 2026 wildfire season
By Public Safety Canada
Government of Canada
August 18, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada
As of today, there are 582 active wildfires nationally including 31 that are out of control, with full response. In total this season, there have been 4,793 fires and 4.1 million hectares burned. Last year we saw fewer fires at this time – 4,584 fires by mid-August – but a more significant number of hectares burned – 7.7 million. The 2026 wildfire season has been shaped by prolonged periods of heat, low humidity and dry conditions in several parts of the country. In mid-July these underlying conditions led to a series of intense wildfires in Northwestern Ontario that caused significant damage and precipitated the evacuation of a number of communities, including numerous First Nations. On July 15, the federal government received a precautionary Request for Federal Assistance (RFA) from Ontario which resulted in the evacuation of Eabametoong First Nation (Fort Hope) by the Canadian Armed Forces starting on July 18. …In September, wildland fire danger is expected to be higher than normal across most of Canada, except in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Four fires sparked west of Tulameen and east of the Coquihalla Highway remain out of control. Of the four fires that sparked west of Tulameen and east of the Coquihalla Highway, one blaze is now considered held. The Mount Britton blaze grew to 0.4 hectares as BC Wildfire crews and local fire departments got on top of the fire and kept it within the existing perimeter. However, the Holm Creek blaze has grown to an estimated 3.89 hectares. The largest of the four fires, in the Lower Mount Rabbit area, along the Lawless Creek Forest Service Road, remains at 12.17 hectares and is the closest to Tulameen. The Upper Murphy fire remains at .3 hectares.
No growth on Summerland’s Bald Range wildfire despite gusty winds
By Ty Lim
The Kelowna Capital News
August 23, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West
Summerland — The Bald Range wildfire 15 kilometres west of Summerland remains at 25,021 hectares, despite gusty winds on Sunday. According to the BC Wildfire Service, the fire behaviour remained lower than in previous days, thanks to rain from Saturday’s thunderstorm, which added moisture to forest fuels. “The northern parts of the Bald Range fire received 6 to 7 mm of rain yesterday, however, the south of the fire received minimal rain,” stated BCWS. However, starting Monday, the Okanagan will enter another period of warming and drying. BCWS says area residents can expect to see increased fire behaviour and activity to the south and west. “We are maintaining 24-hour operations, including ground crews, structure protection personnel, heavy equipment and aviation resources,” explained BCWS. …Several areas remain under evacuation orders and alerts…
Ainslie Creek / Boston Bar — Smoke hanging over a large blaze burning out of control west of Merritt has kept fire behaviour lower than expected on Friday, giving crews a better-than-anticipated day ahead of another potentially challenging weather change Saturday. The unexpectedly calm day has given firefighters more time to strengthen guards and secure the 67,048-hectare Ainslie Creek wildfire’s perimeter before a weather system brings thunderstorms, higher winds and potentially dry lightning Saturday. “It’s quite warm out there and very dry,” Emily Fardad, fire information officer for the Brunswick Complex, told Castanet on Friday afternoon. “We were expecting an increase in fire behaviour today, however due to that smoke that’s sitting out there on top of everything, it’s actually kept it lower than expected.” Crews are continuing to mop up Wednesday’s successful planned ignition near the Alexandra Bridge in the Fraser Canyon, while farther north firefighters are building and strengthening guard lines.
Highway 1 from Yale to Boston Bar still closed due to Ainslie Creek fire
By Barbara Roden
The Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal
August 23, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West
Fraser Canyon / Boston Bar – Highway 1 remains closed from Toll Road (Yale) to just south of Boston Bar due to the Ainslie Creek wildfire, which is still listed as out of control and was estimated at 67,707 hectares as of Sunday morning (Aug. 23). The fire continues to burn above the highway in the Fraser Canyon near Spuzzum and Alexandra Bridge, to the east of the highway and river. Debris fall, including trees and rocks, continues to be a hazard, and periodically impacts Highway 1. All drivers heading north are still able to travel Highway 1 as far as Yale, while southbound drivers are able to travel via Highway 1 from Cache Creek through Spences Bridge and on past Lytton to Boston Bar, where the highway is closed. Fire activity remained low over Saturday night due to a decrease in temperature, light rain, and an increase in humidity.
Firefighting efforts continue on both sides of the B.C.-Washington border for a wildfire near Ross Lake that began in July. The Border 2 Fire, also known as the Hozomeen Mountain Wildfire, is considered out of control. The fire began near Ross Lake due to lightning strikes on the Washington side of the border on July 17 and quickly moved across the border into Canada. The northern tip of Ross Lake is in Canada, southeast of Hope. BC Wildfire Service, US Forest Service and the North Cascades National Park Service are working together to contain the fire. It is being managed in Canada as part of the Manning Fire Complex. The “smouldering ground fire” is estimated to be 8,361.59 hectares total, with 5,409 hectares burning in Canada and 2,952.59 hectares burning in the U.S.
Warmer and drier weather conditions anticipated over the next few days will result in increased activity across the Brunswick Complex that remains out of control, says BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). In the latest update BCWS noted going into the weekend there is the potential for aggressive fire behaviour due to increased winds and warmer temperatures. A current ridge of high pressure is expected to break down bringing high winds and the potential for thunderstorms on Saturday. There was a positive, however, on the wildfire that is made up of the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek fires. BCWS noted improved visibility is allowing for increased aviation support in areas of difficult terrain that are inaccessible to ground crews. Highway 1 remains closed between Toll Road and Aspen Road for approximately 40 kilometres, as a result of the fire that continues to cause significant debris and rock fall north of the Alexandra Bridge.
The Bald Range wildfire burning west of Summerland is expected to remain active overnight, after BC Wildfire Service crews were challenged by difficult terrain and stubborn fire behaviour throughout the day. In a Wednesday evening update, the BC Wildfire Service said persistent hot and dry conditions increased fire activity on Wednesday and suppression efforts were challenged on the south and west flanks. With northwesterly winds gusting up to 30 km/h and low humidity in the forecast, BCWS said the 22,693-hectare wildfire is expected to stay active overnight. Crews will continue to work overnight in the Bald Range area, along the Princeton-Summerland Road corridor, and on the southwestern flank of the fire. …Summerland CAO Graham Statt said earlier Wednesday 450 more properties will be downgraded from an evacuation order to an alert sometime on Thursday, Aug. 19.
Despite both ‘being held’, BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) continues to have a large presence at the Bradley Creek and Quilpituk Creek wildfires. On Monday, BCWS had 90 firefighters, four helicopters, and 10 pieces of heavy equipment on scene between the two blazes. At this time, the Bradley Creek blaze still has one evacuation order issued by the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) and two evacuation alerts, one from OKIB and one from the Regional District of North Okanagan. At the Quilpituk Creek fire, seven evacuation alerts remain, all issued by the Regional District of Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre. Crews have been continuing to mop up hot spots at both blazes. Along the western and southern flanks of the Bradley Creek wildfire, crews are working approximately 100 ft inside the fire perimeter to extinguish remaining heat and will go further into the perimeter in the coming days to address residual heat.
Four people and two pets have been evacuated by helicopter from the Johnson Creek wildfire as properties near the rural community of Beaton remain on evacuation order along the Incomappleux Forest Service Road (FSR) and Fish River Road. The City of Revelstoke issued the order Saturday, Aug. 15… Three Incomappleux FSR properties and two Fish River Road properties have been asked to evacuate the area immediately. The Johnson Creek fire, sparked by lightning and identified July 19, has after four weeks burned 266.52 hectares in mixed forest terrain and progressed close to the Incomappleux FSR and namesake river. “Upon discovery, a rappel crew responded with support from aviation resources,” Southeast Fire Centre spokesperson Alexander Robinson said. “Shortly thereafter, wind driven fire growth moved this fire into extremely steep and inoperable terrain. Crews continued with suppression efforts in areas where it remained safe to do so.”
The Bald Range wildfire continues to burn, 11 days since it was discovered. The blaze, which stands at 21,391 hectares as of Tuesday morning (Aug. 18), continues to experience the most fire activity on the northwestern flank. In its update on Monday night, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) and the District of Summerland confirmed that 150 structures have been destroyed or damaged by the blaze. “That is both Area F and also Summerland proper,” said Statt. “Based on the data I’ve seen so far, approximately 40 structures were damaged or destroyed in Summerland proper, and the remainder of that approximate 150 outside of Summerland.” Statt and RDOS Emergency Operations Centre information officer Erick Thompson emphasized that the initial numbers did not distinguish between main structures like homes and secondary buildings like sheds. At this time, nine evacuation orders and 14 evacuation alerts remain in place.
An out-of-control wildfire that jumped over fire trucks and made it difficult for crews to reach hot spots destroyed homes in northwest Reno, Nevada, on Sunday. Shifting winds challenged firefighters trying to bring it under control, and authorities urged some 90,000 people to evacuate. At least six people — three first responders and three civilians — were injured. Officials said the fire was “human-caused” but did not provide details on how they reached that conclusion, or whether it was intentionally set or accidental. The Hawk Fire began Saturday and grew to more than 23 square miles as it spread Sunday across the Peavine Peak area of the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest, where rugged foothills are ringed by homes and businesses near the California state line. There was zero containment. Some 42,000 residents have been ordered evacuated as the “GO NOW” zone expanded, reaching the edge of the University of Nevada. An additional 45,000 people were in the adjacent evacuation warning zone.
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. —Technology continues to play a role in fighting the Timber Fire in Los Padres National Forest, as firefighters are now using fire-starting drones to help mitigate the fire danger in the Big Sur community. This comes as firefighters made progress over the weekend conducting burn operations on the southern end of the Timber Fire and cutting a fire line on the western edge of the fire as they work to protect the Big Sur community from a wildfire that has so far scorched more than 5,000 acres. …On Monday, fire crews continued their backburning operations, directing the fire toward Highway 1. In areas that are too steep and rugged for firefighters, drones are now being deployed to drop fireballs behind fire lines to help reduce the fire risk. …More than 2,000 firefighters are battling the fire, and with hundreds of structures threatened, not one structure has been damaged, a testament to the firefighting efforts.
Double disaster in Colombia: Wildfires surge as emergency crews struggle in aftermath of quake
By Laura Gamba Fadul
Anadolu Ajansı Greenline
August 18, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International
More than 340 municipalities under red alert for forest fires driven by El Nino, compounding crisis for emergency services responding to massive earthquake. Emergency response agencies in Colombia are facing an unprecedented multi-front crisis as dozens of active wildfires spread rapidly, compounding recovery efforts following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck earlier this week. A total of 344 municipalities have been placed under a red alert for wildfire threats, a staggering 93% single-day surge driven by severe heat and dry conditions, according to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM). The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management on Friday reported dozens of active conflagrations… The surge in wildfires has severely strained emergency crews already deployed at maximum capacity following the Aug. 10 quake. …Complicating the response, national risk management agencies are also monitoring heightened activity at the Purace volcano in the southern department of Cauca, forcing authorities to simultaneously manage multiple major natural hazards.
“The game was over in the big trees. It was going to be the small stuff coming out of the forest.” “The Small Log Revolution” tells the story of how Duane Vaagen saw that change coming and how small logs, local mill capacity and people willing to find common ground created a new path forward. It’s a story about healthier forests, rural communities and finding solutions where others saw obstacles. We’re proud to finally share the full film. Please take a few minutes to watch and share it with others.
Hello early bird! We just want you to know that the news team is busy adding stories to this page. Be sure to check back at 9:00 am (PST) for the full line up of articles.
It’s one of the great paradoxes of B.C.’s declining forestry sector. Large forestry companies continue to divest from B.C. and shutter sawmills and pulp mills, largely due to a lack of access to affordable fibre. Meanwhile, in Coastal B.C., there seems to be plenty of timber available, mostly in the form of second growth. In 2025, only half of the 15 million cubic metres of the coastal available cut was harvested, according to the Truck Loggers Association. Nearly a third of that timber is owned or controlled by Coastal First Nations – about 4.6 million cubic metres. 
It was recently reported that Interfor Corp., a B.C.-founded forest products company and one of North America’s largest lumber producers, is planning to relocate its head office operations from Metro Vancouver to Georgia. A couple of weeks earlier, Canfor Corp. announced the permanent closure of its Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George. These are only the latest in a long list of forestry operations that have closed or left British Columbia. According to the Council of Forest Industries (COFI), 23 mills have permanently closed since 2023. The latest reports suggest the count may now be approaching 30. Premier David Eby’s government has been quick to blame the shrinking B.C. forest industry on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. …But the deeper causes of the crisis in B.C. forestry lie closer to home. B.C. lumber production has been in steep decline for a decade or more. …That conclusion is reinforced by the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force…
GOLDEN LAKE — The Ontario government is investing over $2.1 million in four projects to increase forest sector competitiveness and drive innovative uses for mill by-products and underused wood known as forest biomass. As part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario and build a competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy, these investments will position the forest sector to unlock new markets, bolster supply chains and protect good-paying jobs. “Our government is helping forest sector businesses build international reach and bring competitive products to market,” said Kevin Holland, Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products. “Under our forest sector roadmap, we’re driving the industry’s continued growth and showcasing Ontario’s capacity as a G7 leader in innovative manufacturing.” Associate Minister Holland made the announcement at Ben Hokum and Son, which is receiving over $1.9 million to install two biomass-assisted steam kilns… These investments are delivering on the government’s 
The Hive at 2150 Keith Drive in Vancouver is one of the most seismically advanced mass timber projects in North America. The building features nine levels of mass timber construction, sitting atop a concrete base, with a honeycomb structure of diagonally oriented braces arranged in a cellular pattern. The building’s design uses a perimeter-braced structural system that creates a striking exterior expression and eliminates the need for conventional cast-in-place concrete cores. A mass timber structure for all floors above Level 2; a series of timber shear walls in the interior and a series of structural braces at the exterior resist the wind and seismic load. Exposed wood is a major feature of the building’s interior design. The use of mass timber is complemented by a palette of earth-toned materials, including composite metal panels, wood soffits and abundant glazing. A perfect pairing for the views of the North Shore mountains and downtown Vancouver skyline.
Auburn engineers are working with the U.S. Air Force to redesign deployable military housing using mass timber, with the goal of creating temporary barracks-style structures that can be assembled faster and perform better in cold-weather environments. Led by Auburn Engineering, the project combines structural design, materials testing and prototype development with architecture and building science… Battelle, an applied science and technology organization, is partnering with the Air Force to build prototypes. The work focuses on improving structures traditionally built with light wood-frame construction, similar to conventional residential framing. While effective, that approach can require several days of on-site assembly and additional measures to withstand harsh climates. …Roueche said the Air Force needs temporary housing that can be transported, assembled and occupied quickly. Mass timber gives the team a way to meet that need by shifting more work into prefabrication, reducing on-site assembly time and improving thermal performance for cold-weather deployments.
Canada is on track for its fourth worst wildfire season on record. At a regular fire briefing in Ottawa Tuesday, federal forecasters said September’s fire risk stands to be well above seasonal averages across northern British Columbia, northern Quebec and most of Labrador. So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 40,000 square kilometres … marking the first time in history that forest has burned for four years in a row in Canada. A wildfire destroyed around 150 homes, barns and other buildings in B.C.’s south Okanagan this month. In July, a fire also destroyed much of Namaygoosisagagun, also known as Collins First Nation, 250 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. That fire merged with others in the area and became the largest wildfire ever recorded in Ontario, spanning more than 3,500 square kilometres. Yet the number of requests for federal assistance related to wildfires dropped dramatically this year, government officials told reporters at a technical briefing.
When Donald Trump says Canada is mismanaging its forests, many Canadians instinctively dismiss the comment. …But that would be too easy — not because clearing dead trees and brush never makes sense, but because Trump’s call to “rake the forest” turns a complex problem into a simplistic slogan… Managing a forest that stretches across nearly a third of the country is far more complex than the soundbite would suggest. The real question Canadians should be asking is, “Are we managing our forests in ways that can make catastrophic wildfires more likely and more intense?” The uncomfortable answer is yes. Canada’s wildfire crisis is being fuelled by two converging forces: a changing climate and decades of decisions about how we manage forests and fire. …Trump speaks in soundbites not science, so it can be hard to take him seriously. But that doesn’t mean Canada shouldn’t seize the opportunity to have a serious conversation about forest management…
Canadian forests are getting cooked by our fossil fuel pollution, unleashing a rapidly intensifying wildfire crisis. Most summers used to be calm, low-fire seasons when Canadians could peacefully enjoy our lakes, woods and mountains. As we will see, those low-fire years have become vanishingly rare because we’ve burned away the cooler, calmer climate that made them possible. Most summers in Canada now are choking, high-fire endurance events. As we will also see, we now suffer through more wildfires in our average year than during our very worst years in decades past. And our worst years have turned dystopian. If we don’t stop overheating our forests, the wildfire crisis will continue to spiral out of control. …Are humans causing the wildfire surge in Canada’s unmanaged forests? Yes. Our fossil fuel emissions now permeate every cubic millimetre of the atmosphere… We are cooking up a dystopian future overwhelmed by megafires. 
The province has rejected a leasing application by a private wilderness survival school operator to set up camp within East Sooke Regional Park. Vitaliy Svetlichnyy, owner of One With Nature outdoor survival school, had applied two years ago to lease a 71-hectare parcel of Crown land inside the borders of East Sooke Park to build and operate his school. The proposal included an intensive-use area of about five hectares for several permanent structures … and a dock on the waterfront and storage buildings. Svetlichnyy was asking for a lease of 10 to 30 years on the land and foreshore, but his proposals caused a widespread outcry from local government and the public who said private operators should not be allowed in parks. In his decision, Peter Warbuton, senior licensed authorizations officer for the province, said the proposed long-term commercial use, infrastructure development and exclusive occupation were incompatible with the existing conservation, recreation and stewardship objectives of the area.
The BC Wildfire Service has outlined its policies regarding responses to house and structure fires following a fire that destroyed Ric and Shirley Martin’s Balsam Road home outside Houston on Aug. 5, 2026. An initial BCWS attack crew did respond, but that was to assess and address any risk of the fire spreading into surrounding forested areas, the service said. “Wildland firefighters are trained to respond to wildfires and other incidents involving vegetation and organic fuels. They are not trained or equipped to respond to fires involving structures or other non-organic materials,” the service stated. “Structural firefighters are trained and equipped to respond to structure fires and to protect and defend properties and infrastructure in the wildland urban interface.” …“In the case of the Balsam Road fire, BC Wildfire Service personnel were present to monitor and address any wildfire risk associated with the incident, while structural fire suppression responsibilities remained with the appropriate local fire response agencies.”
As fires continue to bear down on B.C., officials are developing an “all-of-society” approach to build community resilience, bringing together FireSmart programs, risk reduction work and the forest sector, according to Forests Minister Ravi Parmar. “I’ve asked my ministry to take a lot of the different pots of money that we have and develop an all-of-society approach,” Parmar said during a Tuesday press conference. He said the approach would include building a “working forest” with resilience as a core part of that work, along with broader efforts to help communities FireSmart their properties and neighbourhoods. Parmar said the province will provide more details later this week. He said that approach is already well rooted in the Okanagan and that he plans to continue conversations with the West Kelowna fire chief and mayor when he travels to the valley next week.
As an advocate for protecting the Peachland watershed water supply, Taryn Skalbania is used to publicly challenging the provincial government’s policies and guidelines governing logging in the forestry sector. But another challenge confronted her with the rapid growth of the Bald Range wildfire, as she faced an evacuation order at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, from her Princeton Avenue hobby farm just inside the eastern municipal boundary of Peachland. …Skalbania also picked up on comments from Penticton Indian Band chief Greg Gabriel at a press conference in Penticton last Wednesday that included Premier David Eby, calling for the need to examine the forestry sector and logging practices as culprits of drought and massive forest fires. Regarding the recent preponderance of wildfires on the west side of Okanagan Lake, she cited logging was one of several factors playing a role in that occurrence.
Salmon Arm Deputy Fire Chief Carmen Guidos was called in by council to help extinguish concern wildfire fuel mitigation work done at the Park Hill trail system has exacerbated the fire risk. On the agenda for city council’s May 10 meeting was a letter from resident Stig Keskinen regarding the timing of the city’s ongoing wildfire fuel mitigation program that saw work done along the Park Hill trails in May and June. In the letter, Keskinen posits this is not the time of year to do such work. One reason for this are the resulting “dozens of piles” of forest debris now drying throughout the trail system. …Keskinen wanted to know when they would be dealt with ….Guidos confirmed that is the plan, to burn in the fall – similar to what was done with the wildfire mitigation work at Little Mountain.
A team developing an aerospace and environmental project based in Montreal is currently working at the Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base, testing its technology. The SAFARI-APEX project team from Montreal’s École de technologie supérieure has developed a prototype that uses cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor forests from above. The system is designed to spot conditions that could make an area more vulnerable to fire before one actually starts. Serguei Markov, an IT engineer and one of the people behind the project said the system analyzes factors such as vegetation, soil and humidity — information that could help focus fire prevention efforts where the risk is highest. …A prototype, called Borealis, was sent into the atmosphere on a Canadian Space Agency stratospheric balloon in Timmins.
Forest fires are ravaging the country again this summer. My heart goes out to those who have lost family members, homes, their way of life, and pets. The dangers first responders face and the health issues caused by smoke are scary. …The areas hardest hit by the forest fires are pristine areas where environmentalists stand fast on protecting the area in its natural state. Tall conifer trees with dry needles and dead branches on the ground provide fuel and allow fire to jump from treetop to treetop. If lumber companies were allowed to clear-cut for miles around towns and fast-growing deciduous trees were allowed to grow and be supported, a forest would return in 5-10 years with trees that greatly reduce the chance of fire spread.
The United States Forest Service is proposing to amend the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) to allow cutting older trees across the western portion of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. As a fifth generation native of the west coast, I have spent a lifetime in these forests as a private citizen and a 40 plus year career as a U.S. Forest Service employee specializing in forestry and forest engineering. The primary proposed change in the 19.4 million acres of forestlands is to allow cutting trees up to 120 years old compared to 80 years in the current plan. Conservatively speaking, 90 or more percent of the old growth forests in the NWFP area were clearcut in the logging and road building boom from 1950 to the mid 1990’s. …The U.S. Forest Service likely lacks the experienced staff needed to carry out the proposed increase in timber harvest. Years of NWFP implementation, combined with recent federal workforce reductions, have significantly weakened the agency’s institutional knowledge. 
As the climate warms, some mountain trees are moving higher up, while others are spreading downhill. Scientists say something inside the trees may explain why. And that split could reshape watersheds and wildfire risk. For years, scientists have expected mountain trees to move upslope in search of cooler conditions. But a new global study found nearly one-third of tree species are moving downhill instead. That matters because where trees grow can affect how forests burn and how much water they soak up before it flows downstream to rural communities, cities and farms. So why are some trees moving in one direction while others head the other way? The answer may lie in how trees move water. Tim Rademacher, a researcher at the University of Vermont and a co-author of the study, says some species can move water quickly and efficiently, helping them grow. But that efficiency comes with a cost.
The Babylon Fire left parts of the burned landscape more vulnerable to flooding, erosion and debris flows, with increased runoff and erosion likely to recur intermittently for five to 10 years as the landscape recovers. The Forest Service’s newly released Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) report recommends emergency work to reduce those risks, including road-drainage improvements, debris racks at culverts, warning signs, closures and stabilization at old mine sites. Although the most severe soil damage covered only 5% of the area assessed, the report identified five drainages with the highest potential for debris flows. The lightning-caused Babylon Fire started June 26 in the Abajo Mountains about 25 miles southwest of Monticello and burned across parts of Elk Ridge, Dark Canyon Wilderness and Bears Ears National Monument within the Manti-La Sal National Forest. …The report says ground cover typically takes three to five years to re-establish and can take up to 10 years, particularly if drought persists.
Drought and wildfires are straining wildlife and the habitats they depend on across Colorado, prompting Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to closely monitor habitat conditions as animals face increased stress in their search for food, water and shelter. Wildfires rapidly alter ecosystems by removing vegetation that provides food and cover for wildlife. While ecosystems are adapted to periodic fire and will recover over time, large wildfires may reduce habitat quality, displace animals and increase competition for limited resources. Species unable to relocate quickly or that rely on specialized habitats are especially vulnerable this summer. …CPW is adjusting hunting and fishing season structures and license quotas in areas affected by wildfire damage, closing boating ramps during extreme drought conditions, and establishing voluntary and mandatory fishing closures to help sustain healthy habitats and wildlife populations. …Give wildlife extra space and respect area closures. Do not feed wildlife; let them find natural food sources. 
Thousands of acres of currently protected national forest land in Michigan could be opened to road construction and logging under a proposal from the U.S. Forest Service to rescind a 25-year-old rule. The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which restricts road construction and timber harvesting in designated roadless areas, currently protects about 16,000 acres of roadless forest land across the Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha and Ottawa national forests in Michigan. They are among nearly 45 million acres of inventoried roadless areas nationwide which would see protections eliminated under the proposal to rescind the rule, 
The closure of Finch Paper’s pulp mill in Glens Falls, New York, is a blow that will echo across the Northeast for years. For loggers, truckers, foresters and woodlot landowners, this is not some distant threat to worry about in the future. It is — today — lost income, lost markets for wood and the continuing fraying of a way of life. One of us has spent a career in forestry; the other leads a wilderness protection organization. …we both understand a truth: The amount of land we can set aside as wilderness depends on how well we manage the rest of the forest and thus the health of the timber industry. Both wildlands and managed woodlands are needed. …Put simply, wilderness advocates should be rooting for a thriving forest economy. And loggers should welcome a network of wildlands that keeps large forest blocks whole … and models the full range of what these forests can be. 
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada – Dense evergreen plantations in Canada’s boreal forest absorb so much winter sunlight that the resulting surface warming can offset 6 to 20 percent of the climate benefit they are credited with. Canada’s current carbon accounting frameworks measure the carbon stored but largely omit the heat absorbed by these forests, according to a new Policy Brief from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The result is inflated mitigation estimates and public investment in forests that may not deliver the cooling they promise. The Policy Brief “
For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity might not be safe. In the past few years, there have been at least 14 fires, explosions and accidents at biomass power plants across Japan. These incidents, combined with rising prices, pollution concerns and growing opposition are leading some to question the future of Japan’s large-scale biomass plants, an estimated 34 of which produce 3.5 gigawatts of power. …in the rush to expand plants, corners may have been cut, including improper construction and substandard storage and processing of wood pellets, says Roger Smith, Japan director at nonprofit Mighty Earth. 
Almost 4 million hectares of land burned across Canada during this summer’s fire season, much of it in the remote boreal forests. …some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing wildfires now occur in the Arctic and boreal region, across eight countries to form a ring around the North Pole and making up the world’s largest biome. Primarily triggered by lightning strikes and exacerbated by global warming, which is warming the Arctic boreal forests at up to four times the global average, these fires are becoming a major source of worldwide carbon emissions. …Arctic and boreal regions store an immense amount of carbon. Boreal forests alone house roughly two-thirds of global forest carbon. …Protecting the boreal from wildfire is not only about safeguarding northern communities and ecosystems. It is an essential part of tackling climate change, protecting public health and building resilience for a warming world.
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Three BC ministries — Health, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, and Forests — provided an update on on wildfire and smoke conditions in British Columbia. This is the first wildfire season update that has included Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry. … Effects of wildfire smoke can be felt even at a distance from the fires, said Dr Bonnie Henry in her opening remarks. Children are more affected because their lung are small relative to their body weight. Smoky air can result in throat irritation, headaches, cough and runny eyes which Dr Henry called “short term effects”. But she says she has “concerns” about long term effects, including how very small PM2.5 particles of from smoke and soot get deep into the lungs and infiltrate to other parts of the body. …She highlighted an announcement that N95 masks are being provided free in BC wildfire zones, through the Canadian Red Cross with federal funding.
