More Republican lawmakers are demanding action from Canada as wildfire smoke continues to drift south. In related news: a Toronto columnist calls on Ottawa to ramp up its response; smoke lingers over Quebec despite a tame fire season; BC is faring well after 70,000 lightning strikes; Washington braces for an inevitable megafire; and wildfires force evacuations in Manitoba, Newfoundland, and France. In Forestry news: SFI backs American Forest Congress resolutions; Alaska operators decry lack of timber sales; and a Yale study finds trees host trillions of microbes.
In Business news: a fire damages Kalesnikoff Lumber’s Castlegar, BC mill; Weyerhaeuser celebrates 125 years in Mississippi; Riverside Forest Products plans a new sawmill in Forks, Washington; Domtar faces odour complaints in Tennessee; Cascades posts a Q2 loss, while Suzano reports gains; and concerns mount over housing supply in Canada and the US. Meanwhile: more commentary on Carney’s forestry aid package by journalist Rob Shaw, BC Forest Minister Ravi Parmar; Steelworkers’ Nicolas Lapierre; Carlton University’s Fen Osler Hampson; and forest industry experts Domenico Iannidinardo and David Elstone.
Finally, BC Wildfire Service warns of sharing AI-generated images of fires.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
BURNABY, B.C. – The United Steelworkers union (USW) District 3 and the USW Wood Council are calling on the federal government to take urgent action in response to the latest escalation in the softwood lumber trade dispute. Following the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to increase anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports to 20.56%, the USW is demanding immediate support for forestry workers and communities across the country. …“Our prime minister says softwood lumber is a priority in trade talks, but what forest workers need now is action,” said Scott Lunny, USW Western Canada Director. …In addition the USW is calling for a comprehensive support package for forest workers, including wage subsidies, loan guarantees for affected businesses and other targeted resources to support provinces, regional and local communities to sustain critical infrastructure and services through this unprecedented uncertainty.
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce has been following the Trump administration’s actions on tariffs since the start of the year, said President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Woodcock. …Woodcock said Monday that some individual companies and industries are already seeing a “dramatic impact.” For example, he said lumber product prices have increased. … In Maine, “our forest products industry is the one that is most affected with these specific industry, sector-level tariffs,” Woodcock said. The state imports 2.3 million tons of wood products annually, most of which comes from Canada, according to a Maine Forest Service 
The Forest Stewardship Council Canada announces the launch of a public consultation on draft indicators related to Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs). These indicators form part of our ongoing work to strengthen forest stewardship and protect ecologically and culturally significant forest areas across Canada. IFLs are large, unfragmented areas of natural forest that are free from significant human activity and are critical for biodiversity, carbon storage, and Indigenous cultural values. FSC Canada is committed to ensuring that management activities in IFLs are carefully assessed and responsibly planned. These indicators will guide how FSC-certified forest operations manage intact forest areas… Indigenous Cultural Landscapes (ICLs) are areas that hold significant cultural, ecological, and spiritual value to Indigenous Peoples, reflecting their deep relationships with the land. Due to the need for more in-depth consultation with Indigenous Peoples on the Draft Indicators and Guidance for ICLs, an additional consultation period will be launched shortly. 
…The pressure to balance local benefits and profitability is something community forests must continuously navigate. A 
Years of drought combined with persistent wildfire, some of it burning underground over winter, are causing forests in B.C.’s north east to fall down. Having had the roots and organic soils that had held them up burned away these often green trees now form a dense ground fuel load for future fires. The fallen trees also form a jack-straw of branches and boles that will act as an abatis in the face of fire crews. This has fire specialists and ecologists in the Fort Nelson Fire Zone worried. “With this fuel type, another concern is the multi-year impacts of having this much fuel on the ground,” says Eric Kopetski BCWS Fire Behaviour Analyst. The Fort Nelson Fire Zone has been dealing with drought and fire for years with the Fort Nelson Complex now covering 4 million hectares including 25 fires and 350,000 hectares burned this year. Distance, terrain and fire tenacity already pose challenges to fire crews. 
New research highlights concern from across Scotland about the role of industrial forestry corporations and asset management organisations who increasingly dominate the ownership and management of Scotland’s forests. The research concludes that more community ownership and management of woodlands, and more diverse ownership of forests across Scotland would increase community wealth and lead to greater environmental benefits, as well as producing more actively managed forests in Scotland. Three new discussion papers … analyse the effectiveness and impact of industrial forestry on local areas as well as for meeting national carbon and timber targets. Industrial forestry refers to predominantly single species, mostly unmanaged, Sitka Spruce forest, contrasting with more climatically resilient, sustainable, mixed species forestry. The papers recognise that, while mixed productive forestry has an important part to play in reaching Net Zero and delivering economic and social opportunities, basic assumptions about the benefits of industrial forestry can be questionable.
Toronto is among the most polluted cities in the world on Monday morning as the city remains under a special air quality statement for its third consecutive day. Environment Canada said smoke from forest fires is expected to continue to impact much of southern Ontario Monday and may persist into Tuesday before finally easing. “Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,” said Environment Canada in a special air quality statement issued Monday morning. …Toronto ranked third in a 
Dust collection expert Robert Williamson at Nederman Corporation, commented on a video of the deadly explosions at Horizon Biofuels, in Fremont, Nebraska. “It’s only speculation at this point, but it is these types of [wood dust explosive] events where we see fatalities,” said Williamson, VP Technical Solutions and Business Development North America. “You have the primary explosion and then a bigger explosion, the whole elevator explodes, and part of the building.” After the primary event, fine dust, which is more reactive than heavier dust and tends to accumulate in hard-to-clean areas, causes a secondary explosion, which experts on the scene also believe was the case in this instance. …Wood dust explosions can happen so fast that there is no time to evacuate. “These things happen so quickly, in less than 500 milliseconds,” he said, “There’s really no way to get away. Nobody’s going to run from this.”
FREMONT, Neb. – Two days after a horrific explosion at a biofuels plant left a man and two girls dead, the state fire marshal told First Alert 6 the incident started with a dust fire — and was an accident. “A preliminary investigation indicates an accidental dust explosion occurred during the manufacturing process. Additional investigation efforts are currently impeded due to the instability of the structure,” the Nebraska Fire Marshal agency said in a statement Thursday afternoon. The state has completed its initial investigation of the incident at Horizon Biofuels, which manufactures wood pellets and animal bedding. Occupational Safety and Health Administration , however, remains at the scene and must — by law — complete its investigation within six months. The 
A wildfire on Vancouver Island is threatening Douglas-fir trees in Cathedral Grove, located on the western shoreline of Cameron Lake. The old-growth forest is filled with gigantic 800-year-old trees… The out-of-control Wesley Ridge wildfire was discovered on July 31 and is now 511 hectares in size. The Regional District of Nanaimo issued an evacuation order on August 2, which affected nearly 400 properties in the area around Cameron Lake, about 25 kilometres west of Parksville. …The fire has grown rapidly over the weekend as it looms over Highway 4, which remains open for the time being. Crews are trying to push it back, even using night vision so they can battle the blaze 24 hours a day. Emelie Peacock with the BC Wildfire service says, “we currently have 142 personnel responding to this wildfire, which includes 65 firefighters, 2 followers, and roughly 75 structure protection specialists”. …The fire is suspected to be human-caused … investigation is still in its preliminary stages.
Arizona’s fire season keeps smoldering and flaring, thanks to a schizo monsoon and a dry winter. The 125,000-acre Dragon Bravo Fire continues to grow, with the 1,200 firefighters managing just 13% containment after nearly a month of trying. The National Weather Service had predicted a normal to wet monsoon after a bone-dry winter, based largely on sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific. But as a global warming trend driven by heat-trapping pollutants pumps energy into the atmosphere, patterns of drought, heat and storm tracks have become harder and harder to predict. So the monsoon has splashed and sputtered, with a week of storms giving way to a week of hot, dry weather – extending the fire season well into the period when fire crews would normally shift to other areas. Fortunately, the extended forecast calls for a chance the monsoon will gust back to life next week.