Blog Archives

Already this month, Jasper has seen 10 times as much rain as it did in all of July 2017. Yet fears about wildfires are growing in the mountain town, fuelled by the rusty, red colour of the surrounding forests — a visible reminder of the spreading pine beetle infestation and the area’s increasing vulnerability to a blaze. Jasper’s residents, remembering the 2016 Fort McMurray fire and last summer’s smoky haze through the Rocky Mountains from wildfires in B.C., are voicing concerns about the community’s preparedness for a major fire. “We have numerous pine beetle-attacked trees upwind of the community, which is raising concerns not just for residents, but visitors and other folks, as well,” said Greg Van Tighem, fire chief for the Municipality of Jasper. …[He] says his message to residents is they must be personally prepared for the worst — namely an evacuation.

B.C. has banned campfires for the rest of the summer on most of Vancouver Island and on the Gulf Islands because of forecasts of high temperatures and little rain. Also banned are tiki torches, open fires burning wood debris in outdoor stoves, fireworks, burning barrels, exploding targets used for rifle target practice, and sky lanterns made out of paper. …It covers B.C.’s Coastal Fire Centre, which stretches over western B.C. and includes Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, the area up to Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park. Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island’s fog zone are exempted from the ban. …Since the beginning of April, 69 per cent of wildfires in the coastal area have been caused by people, according to B.C.’s Ministry of Forests. Regulations banning fires cover public and private land, unless local governments have other rules.

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of Western Forest Products Inc. on tree farm licence 39, in the Campbell River Natural Resource District, during the week of July 23, 2018. Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning, carried out between July 1, 2017, and July 27, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. Tree farm licence 39 is made up of four geographical areas called blocks. This audit will examine activities in blocks 2 and 5. Block 2 is located northwest of Campbell River, near the community of Sayward, and Block 5 is located about 65 kilometres north of Campbell River, on the mainland coast.

The patchwork of green forests in and around Jasper National Park is increasingly interrupted with splashes of red. It’s a sign of destruction caused by the mountain pine beetle and it’s more apparent than ever before in Alberta’s westernmost forests — altering the landscape that greets visitors to the iconic national park and prompting debate about how to manage the effects of tinder-dry, dead wood near the town site. …The Alberta government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to stop the spread of the pest. The decade-long efforts have slowed the beetle’s movement toward the carefully managed forests that supply wood for lumber and other purposes located to the east of Jasper. …But in the meantime, some Jasper residents are increasingly worried about not just the esthetics of red, rusty forests, but also the fire hazards.

Beleaguered Winnipeg trees are under a fresh attack from a new foe this season: the cottony ash psyllid, also known as jumping tree lice. The tiny, yellow-and-black bugs were first spotted in city trees last year, but their impact was considered low at the time, said city forester Martha Barwinsky. That changed this year thanks to a dry season, she said, although city tree experts are still determining the extent of the infestation. “This spring, of course, a lot of the black ash trees were very late to leaf out, much like last year. But as they started to leaf out, the impact was even greater,” she said. “We’re finding, actually, much more advanced stages of the cottony ash psyllid this year.”