Category Archives: Health & Safety

Record breaking heat across BC brings increased probability of forest fires, and a very serious risk of heat stroke and heat exhaustion for outdoor workers. Employers should be treating this heat spell as a serious event. Over the final week of June and first week of July, we are expecting record-breaking heat across all of British Columbia. Outdoor work such as tree planting is very strenuous, and risk of heat stroke and heat exhaustion is high. Heat stroke can be fatal and must be taken very seriously. These conditions are HIGHLY UNUSUAL, and employers should be treating this heat spell as a serious event. …to protect workers, employers should start immediately by reviewing the hazards of extreme heat with ALL staff and ensuring that all employees (including first aid) can identify and distinguish between heat exhaustion and heat stroke and are aware of both preventive steps and how to assist workers that are impacted by heat exposure.

Threat: Daytime highs ranging from 29 to 38 degrees celsius combined with overnight lows of 18 to 21 degrees celsius. Humidex values during this period will reach the high 30’s to possibly the low 40’s.

Locations: Metro Vancouver – Central, Metro Vancouver SW, Metro Vancouver – North Shore, Greater Victoria, Howe Sound, Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Southern Gulf Islands, East Vancouver Island, Inland Vancouver Island.

An exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure will develop over British Columbia likely resulting in record breaking temperatures. The duration of this heat wave is concerning as there is little relief at night with elevated overnight temperatures. This record-breaking heat event will increase the potential for heat-related illnesses. Drink plenty of water even before you feel thirsty and stay in a cool place. Check on older family, friends and neighbours. Make sure they are cool and drinking water. Never leave people or pets inside a parked vehicle. Watch for the symptoms of heat illness: dizziness/fainting; nausea/vomiting; rapid breathing and heartbeat; extreme thirst; decreased urination with unusually dark urine.

Outdoor workers should take regularly scheduled breaks in a cool place.

Dusty Resource Road Conceals Hazard Resulting in Collision Between Pickup Trucks: Two pickup trucks loaded with All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) were travelling down a mainline logging road at the end of day. The first truck came over the crest of a hill and encountered a large depression in the road. The driver slammed on the brakes but still hit the depression hard. Following the impact, the driver slowed down to assess if the straps had loosened on the ATV from impact, but there was no safe place to pull over. The second driver was a few minutes behind. As they came over the crest of the slope, they could see brake lights in very thick dust and tried to stop but rear–ended the first truck. The drivers hand was cut when glass blew out. This safety alert provides an overview of the incident and preventative actions to avoid these types of hazards.

Aallcann Wood Suppliers Inc. has been fined $80,000 after pleading guilty in Prince Albert provincial court to violating an occupational health and safety law. A worker was injured on Dec. 19, 2018 when he or she was caught in the chain drive of a conveyer belt while attempting to clean it, according to a provincial government news release. The person’s name and the extent of their injuries were not disclosed. The Prince Albert company pleaded guilty on May 31 to a charge of failing to “provide an effective safeguard where a worker may contact a dangerous moving part of a machine, resulting in a serious injury to a worker.” The court imposed a fine of $57,143, along with a surcharge of $22,857, for a total amount of $80,000. Aallcann Wood Suppliers produces treated timber products for agricultural use.

At its April 2021 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved the 2020 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These amendments will come into effect on September 1, 2021. Strikethrough versions of the amendments with explanatory notes can be accessed below. Deletions in the regulatory amendments are identified with a strikethrough and additions are in bold text and highlighted in yellow. The approved amendments are as follows:

• Part 6, Restricted intervals for pesticide application
• Part 8, High visibility apparel
• Part 8, Safety headgear
• Part 16, Mobile equipment

These amendments were posted online for feedback during the public hearing process. Stakeholder feedback received is available for review.

One of B.C.’s biggest forestry companies will be donating funds to charity for each employee vaccinated against COVID-19. To continue to promote the safest possible workplace and support the health and well-being of their communities, Canfor is encouraging all of its employees across North America to get vaccinated, said senior director of communications and government relations Michelle Ward. “As a show of appreciation, once employees are fully vaccinated, they are eligible for a gift or donation in their honour to a named charity,” Ward said. Canfor is also donating $25 to Habitat for Humanity for every employee vaccinated, she added. The company has a number of operations across northern B.C., including Vanderhoof, Chetwynd, Prince George, Fort St. John, Houston, Mackenzie and Taylor. It estimates approximately 3,500 employees in the province will be eligible for the program.

Jerry Krouzel

Jerry Krouzel planted trees for most of his life. He wasn’t finished. The 79-year-old was working on a tree planting job just two weeks before family say COVID-19 felled the tall, formidable forester. Krouzel’s daughters believe he was infected May 2 or May 3 on a tree planting crew headed to a site near Burns Lake, B.C. He died May 18 in his basement suite in Quesnel after refusing medical treatment for COVID-19. The veteran tree planter had sent messages to family members about a fellow worker who was coughing during transport to a planting site. Krouzel left the site fearing infection after working his final day on May 9. His family says he wore a mask and was wary of COVID-19, but had chosen not to get vaccinated. …[His daughter Aida Krouzel] said she wishes the person who infected her father had not gone to work.

After Northern Health declared a COVID-19 outbreak last week on a Quesnel tree planting crew WorkSafeBC is now auditing COVID-19 practices and compliances on the companies involved. One of the nine workers infected has died. Previous Workplace Closure Orders issued May 10th to MikeGroSite Consulting Ltd. and Dewan Enterprise Ltd. remain in place. The companies were planting for BC Timber Sales. The WFCA has cooperated with the agencies involved since it first heard reports early this month of sick workers on a crew working from Quesnel. According to allegations received from two employees who got sick, there were no COVID-19 protocols in place at work, or in accommodations, and little or no support from their employers once they had symptoms. In announcing the outbreak Northern Health stated it had “determined that that infection control measures were not sufficient to prevent further transmission of COVID-19 in employer-sourced staff lodging, transportation, and field-work settings.”

To be precise there are an estimated 4,731 tree planters in the field this week in BC — this is according to forestry work attestations received by our government. Close to 3,200 are working from 68 camps with another 1,300 located in 93 hotels. With the exception of the COVID-19 outbreak in Quesnel, we have reports, so far, of only three workers testing positive on three crews, all of whom were complying with the PHO order and practices. As a result, only two crews had to isolate affected cohorts as required by law. Now all workers involved are healthy and back at work. Nearly all isolating crews in BC are at, or have passed, the period when infections are likely to show up. BC Forest Safety Advocate Jordan Tesluk is working with the BC Ministry of Public health and contractors to vaccinate as many as 2,000 workers at various locations throughout the province starting next week.

A veteran tree planter has died after he was exposed to COVID-19 while travelling to a reforestation operation in Quesnel. The 80-year-old man worked for Dewan Enterprises as a reforestation sub-contractor.  Health officials in northern B.C. declared the outbreak at the reforestation operation in Quesnel on May 21, three days after he died. A total of nine people have tested positive in the outbreak.  The outbreak involved Dewan Enterprises and MikeGroSite Consulting. Both businesses were ordered to close on May 10 after public health investigations found employers failed to ensure safety protocols were in place and being followed, including wearing masks. …Dr. Trevor Corneil, an acting medical health officer with the Northern Health Authority says the man… was working within the city when he was exposed to the virus. Jordan Tesluk, B.C.’s forestry safety advocate, says the entire tree-planting community is grieving the loss of a beloved veteran member. 

PRINCE GEORGE – After a concrete blockade was installed taking away the main access to the PG Pulp Mill on Wednesday, several Canfor employees told CKPG News they were ‘terrified’ for their safety. The concrete barriers were installed on Wednesday after a semi-truck packed with paper was involved in a collision with a CN train. Trains colliding with trucks has happened before but has never generated the same response from CN. When the concrete barrier was installed that cut off access for emergency crews, who could not get to the PG Pulp Mill if medical or fire assistance was needed leading to big concerns for Canfor employees. “The safety of those traveling near or on our facilities … is of paramount importance to both Canfor and Canfor Pulp. We’re working together with CN to improve crossing safety by developing new measures that remind everyone to be mindful and stay safe,” said Canfor’s Michelle Ward

Welcome to the Summer edition of Forest Safety News, covering news about safety topics in forestry. This is YOUR safety newsletter. Headlines this month include:

• Resource Road Safety video targets both industry and recreational users
• BCFSC has a new website
• Shortened spring break-up and increased road traffic – a cause for concern
• The 2021 planting season is underway
• Work-Related Deaths & Injuries
• 2021 SAFE Companies audit submission requirements
• Approved administrators of the BC Faller Training Standard
• Mobile Equipment/Pedestrian Proximity Research Project
• Achieving a safety culture amid a pandemic

Bears are coming out of hibernation with big appetites. Rosie Wijenberg, WildSafeBC community coordinator, said it’s important for the public to stay vigilant. …“When bears wake up, it’s a matter of life and death for mothers to feed their cubs. They will be very hungry until the berries ripen and come in season,” she said.  …hikers should travel in groups and make lots of noise to ensure their presence is known. Dogs should also be kept on a leash at all times. Off-leash dogs might bark and take chase, which could provoke defensive bear behaviour.

• Stay facing the bear and talk in a low, calm voice. Have your bear spray ready. Never run or scream, as that can trigger an attack.
• If a bear persists and approaches you, use your bear spray.
• If the bear makes contact with you, roll on your stomach, cover the back of your neck, remain still and play dead.

For more information “How to survive a bear attack” WikiHow

Heavy rainfall and frost-related damage has forced closure of forest service roads in the Omineca Region to heavy industrial traffic while two roads have been closed completely, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said Tuesday. Heavy rainfall and frost-related damage has forced closure of forest service roads in the Omineca Region to heavy industrial traffic while two roads have been closed completely, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said Tuesday. …Exceptions remain in place for vehicles related to road maintenance, tree planting, grocery, fuel and other essential deliveries to communities and fighting wildfires. Recreational vehicles are also allowed but not recommended due to the poor road conditions.

Today, the provincial government announced amendments to the Employment Standards Act that will bring in three days of paid sick leave related to COVID-19, such as having symptoms, self-isolating and waiting for a test result. Employers will be required to pay workers their full wages and the Province will reimburse employers without an existing sick leave program up to $200 per day for each worker to cover costs. WorkSafeBC will support the province’s short-term, paid sick leave for COVID-19 by developing an online application, which will be used by employers who are registered for WorkSafeBC coverage to apply for the employer reimbursement program. The online application will be available beginning next month.

B.C.’s vast network of wilderness resource roads has been used for recreation for decades, but the traffic to remote areas is set to jump as summer arrives and COVID-19 travel restrictions ease. The provincial government has always had difficulty maintaining the 58,000 km of forest service roads that serve industry and are increasingly being kept open for residential, industrial and recreational access. B.C. Auditor General Michael Pickup reported in January that the B.C.’s resource road districts are only receiving about one quarter of the money they request for maintenance… The B.C. Forest Safety Council says in the past 10 years, one out of four resource road accidents has resulted in the death of a light pickup driver. Proper use of two-way radios and safety procedures on active logging roads is the subject of a new instructional video…

Additional coverage in the Kimberly Bulletin: Safety video urges caution on resource roads. 

Logging in TFL 44 on Vancouver Island has halted following an incident between forestry contractors and activists. The incident comes one day after Huu-ay-aht First Nations announced they have purchased more interest in the tree farm licence through a partnership with Western Forest Products. John Jack, a director with Huumiis Ventures. Ltd., (part of the TFL 44 limited partnership), said the encounter took place “somewhere in the Carmanah Walbran region” between protesters and a contractor… The Rainforest Flying Squad, which has been vocal in its protests against logging in Fairy Creek, posted on Instagram about “multiple acts of violence towards Indigenous people” at blockades in Pacheedaht and Ditidaht First Nations territories. Western Forest Products … acknowledged that an incident took place … and confirmed TFL 44 LP had “paused” operations while an investigation takes place.

Video has emerged of a tense altercation between forestry workers and activists trying to prevent old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. The activists say a young Indigenous person was injured during the standoff with 10 workers in the Walbran Valley, near Port Renfrew, on Tuesday. The region has been the site of ongoing blockades by the Rainforest Flying Squad, a group that is opposed to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. The B.C. Supreme Court granted an injunction last month to remove the blockaders from the nearby Fairy Creek area, but the RCMP have yet … to clear the protest camps. Video shot by the activists … shows several forestry workers threatening the blockaders at a protest camp… Western Forest Products issued a statement Wednesday …  the company identifies the men as “a contractor crew” and says the RCMP and WorkSafeBC were notified of the incident.

Logging operations have stopped on a section of southern Vancouver Island after an altercation broke out Tuesday between forestry workers and blockaders, a flashpoint in a months-long dispute over an unlogged watershed in the region. Video of the incident… shows forestry workers acting aggressively, using racist language and making explicit threats against the activists. At one point, one of the forestry workers knocks a phone from a protestor’s hand. …Protesters have set up blockades at the Fairy Creek watershed since last summer. …The workers in the video appeared irate that protesters had expanded their activities beyond the Fairy Creek watershed. …Cpl. Chris Manseau with Cowichan Lake RCMP said they received a complaint about forestry workers harassing people travelling on logging roads. Manseau said RCMP have watched the video and are looking to speak with the protesters who were harassed.  

In light of the recent cougar attack on a woman in the Fraser Valley, here are some safety tips should you find yourself face-to-face with one of the big cats. If you encounter a cougar: Stay calm and keep it in view. Back away slowly, ensuring that the animal has a clear avenue of escape. Make yourself look as large as possible. Never run or turn your back on a cougar. Respond aggressively, keep eye contact with the cougar, show your teeth and make loud noises. If a cougar attacks, fight back – focus your attack on the cougar’s face and eyes. …Contact the Conservation Officer Services (COS) Call Centre 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP) if a cougar poses an immediate threat or danger to public safety.

There are over 620,000 kms of roads across BC which are used by both industrial users and the public. Loaded log trucks can weigh 10 times more than a regular pick-up, have limited maneuverability and can take up to 300 feet to stop.

British Columbia is effectively managing highway avalanche risks, says a report by the province’s auditor general that examined two decades of data. Michael Pickup said Tuesday an audit by his office found avalanche deaths on B.C. highways are rare and road closures are declining, but improvements can still be made. …Pickup told a news conference there haven’t been any avalanche-related deaths on provincial highways in the last 20 years. “And over the same time frame we have seen a decrease in both the frequency and duration of closures due to avalanches.” …The audit also found the ministry provides timely avalanche forecasts to highway users, maintenance contractors and emergency services. It recommended that the ministry update the 1,600 avalanche paths it has mapped to reflect changes from a variety of factors, including vegetation growth, fires and logging activity.