Last year was Canada’s most destructive wildfire season ever, with a confluence of drought, extreme fire weather and dry forest fuels combining to burn about 150,000 square kilometres of land — an area roughly half the size of Italy. But while more than 40 per cent of the 6,700 wildfires started in Canada in 2023 were ignited by people, carelessness and arson were far from the leading cause of forest destruction, according to a study carried out by 17 federal and university research scientists. While accounting for 59 per cent of ignitions, lightning-caused wildfires led to about 90 per cent of the area burned across the country last year, the study found. “Everything was kind of off the charts,” said Mike Flannigan, one of the study’s co-authors and a wildfire researcher from Thompson Rivers University. “That’s four to five per cent of [Canada’s] forest burned.”
…dozens of the fires whose smoke darkened North America’s skies last year are still burning — with some smouldering beneath layers of snow. These so-called “zombie fires” are a sign of a grim new normal that’s wreaking havoc even in far northern countries like Canada: A fire season that almost never ends. B.C. had 90 zombie blazes still burning as of mid-March, holdovers from last year’s record fire season, while Alberta started the year with 64 fires carried over from 2023 — more than 10 times the five-year average. As spring temperatures melt snow and uncover land parched by drought, those fires and new ones are poised to flare up, posing a fresh threat to Canada’s forests, not to mention the world’s atmosphere. …This year, with 71 per cent of Canada abnormally dry or in drought in February and swaths of the country as much as 5 degrees warmer than normal, governments and companies are bracing for a repeat. 
Message from Executive Director Steve Kozuki: 2024 funding and projects
Once a year, the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit brings together wildfire practitioners from all over BC and beyond. With speakers and workshops, we explore how to make BC homes, communities, and the landscape more wildfire resilient. The upcoming summit will take place in Prince George on April 20-24, 2024. Our theme for this year’s Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit is Recover, Rebuild, Prepare. The Summit will kick off with two days of training for firefighting professionals, followed by a three-day conference, where we’ll explore the lessons learned from 2023, along with the latest research, technologies, best practices and other information to help regions and communities prepare for the upcoming wildfire season. We look forward to seeing you in April as we work together to make communities across British Columbia more wildfire resilient.
NORMANDIN, Q.C. — The Ministry of Employment announced an investment of $428,823 for the training of mechanics in the wood processing and paper manufacturing sector, to meet the needs of businesses in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Work-study program – The mechanics and equipment maintenance training offered, tailor-made to meet specific needs, includes a total of 800 hours of training. This will take place in the form of a work-study program, consisting of 480 hours in class and 320 hours of paid internship in a company. Mainly focused on learning industrial mechanics, the training also includes a block devoted to understanding wood transformation processes. Tailor-made training now – As part of this cohort training, the Pays-des-Bleuets School Services Center, through its Business Services , will offer training to 16 workers from seven companies in the region, namely Sciages GP , PFR, Opiticiwan Sawmill, JAMEC, Tackipotcikan Sawmill Limited Partnership, Wemotaci and NJR Sharpening.
Fire plays a complex role in the development of forest structure and wildlife habitat in moist forests of the Pacific Northwest. Despite the perception that abundant precipitation and relatively infrequent lightning limited historical fire activity to large, high-severity fires during drought, recently developed fire histories document relatively frequent non-stand-replacing fires that shaped successional dynamics, forest conditions, and wildlife habitat in many moist forest landscapes. Non-stand-replacing fires facilitated the development of large complex tree crowns, multi-aged and multistoried canopies, mixed species composition, and the recruitment of snags and logs. …Cumulatively, contemporary fires have reduced late-successional and old-growth forest habitat, while also contributing to the complexity of future old-growth forests and creating structurally diverse early seral habitats that were rare until recently. [a webinar series by NCASI and the Washington Chapter of The Wildlife Society – Thursday, April 4 at 11:30am]
GOLD HILL, North Carolina — Working Lands Trust (WLT), a key advocate for the conservation of North Carolina’s forestry legacy, proudly announces the receipt of a transformative $382,605.62 grant from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. This funding will bolster WLT’s tireless efforts towards forestry stewardship, community empowerment, and the support of military resilience within the Eastern North Carolina Sentinel Landscape. The awarded grant will underpin an initiative designed to support and bolster opportunities for forestry centric programming within North Carolina’s rural and BIPOC communities. The project will be implemented in collaboration with esteemed partners including the Eastern North Carolina Sentinel Landscape, the North Carolina Foundation for Soil and Water Conservation, the Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project, the Land Loss Prevention Project, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the National Woodland Owners Association.
HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Forest Service is deploying new drone technology to help fight fires and control prescribed wildfires. New legislation permits the Florida Forest Service to use American-made drones. Each drone is equipped with a series of chemical-infused balls that — upon deployment — fill with anti-freeze. The mixture causes a chemical reaction inside the ball, starting a fire. It’s changing the way firefighters are conducting prescribed burns. “It’s just going to make it safer for our folks not being entrapped,” said Keith Mousel, Withlacoochee Center Manager for the Florida Forest Service. “Not having to deal with the heat, fatigue, and the dangers that go with walking through unburnt woods.” …The drones will be used by firefighters across seven different districts, ranging from the Alabama state line down to Fort Myers.
