Category Archives: Health & Safety

Each year, BCFSC celebrates individual safety achievements in forestry. Nominations are now being accepted for safety in harvesting, manufacturing, and lifetime achievement. If you know a leader in forestry safety, then nominate an individual, crew, team, division, contractor, company, supplier, consultant, trainer, etc. (basically anyone that deserves to be recognized for outstanding safety leadership or achievements) you can nominate them by sending an email to the BC Forest Safety Council.

There are three award categories for Leadership Safety.

1. Cary White Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award – This special award is presented to someone who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving safety awareness, expanding safety knowledge, developing safety skills at ground level and building a lasting culture of safety among BC’s forestry workers.
2. Forest Safety Most Valuable Player (MVP) – This award recognizes an individual or group that has made a notable contribution to forest industry safety within their operation or company.
3. Manufacturing Safety Most Valuable Player (MVP) – This award recognizes an individual or group that has made a notable contribution to wood products manufacturing safety within their operation or company.

Leadership in Safety Award recipients will be honoured in person during the Vancouver Island Safety Conference on October 28th, 2023, in Nanaimo.

As air quality due to wildfire smoke remains poor in parts of Western Canada, health experts are advising people to stay inside as much as possible. But they say if you need to be outside, wear a mask. Calgary respirologist Dr. Alex Chee says N95 masks do the best job of filtering out smoke particles. But if people only have surgical masks, he says that’s better than nothing. Chee says wildfire smoke can cause both lung and heart problems. …There are things people can use to reduce the smoke’s effect, says Dr. Anne Hicks, a pediatric respirologist and assistant professor at the University of Alberta. “Because of the pandemic, a lot of people have added HEPA filtration or MERV filtration to their businesses, which means we have more safe places to be indoors.”

Wildfire smoke sweeping across the prairies is expected to cause ‘extremely poor’ air quality in parts of central and southern Manitoba including Winnipeg Wednesday. In a special air quality statement, Environment Canada and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said a cold front in Manitoba is bringing smoke from wildfires in northern Saskatchewan. The smoke is expected to hit the Red River Valley around noon today, causing ‘extremely poor air quality and reduced visibility.’ “Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,” the statement reads. “That being said, as the front carrying the plume of smoke initially approaches, expect conditions to swiftly deteriorate.” Neil Johnston, president and CEO of the Manitoba Lung Association, said for those living with lung health issues this smoky weather is a major concern. He said even for healthy people, prolonged exposure can have an impact.

In this edition of Health and Safety Enews, learn more about engaging workers in health and safety. Ensuring your workers are represented and engaged contributes to a healthier and safer workplace. Have a conversation about safety with your team, build on their input, and make sure they feel heard.

• Keeping young workers healthy and safe on the job Talking to young workers about health and safety in the workplace — and providing proper training and orientation — helps to keep everyone safe in the workplace. Young workers should know how to talk to their supervisor if something feels unsafe.
• Planning work around high-voltage equipment? “Plan for 10.” Work near high-voltage electrical equipment or conductors must be carefully planned and carried out to prevent worker contact with electricity. Stay 10 feet (3 metres) from high-voltage lines.
• Reducing violence in the workplace Violence incidents in the workplace have increased 25 percent in the last 5 years. 

A veteran Alberta wildland firefighter is in the hospital after suffering a serious injury while battling the wildfire in his home community. On May 5, the wildfire hit East Prairie Metis Settlement quickly, as fires broke out across the province. Within minutes, residents were fleeing for safety — relatives came to Frankie Payou and Melodie Robinson’s home to warn them it was time to evacuate. …With 14 years of firefighting under his belt, Payou fire-proofed the family’s home, then started to do the same for others. He was gone not even 15 minutes when his own home caught fire, said Jessica Supernault, a relative of Robinson’s. His mother’s house also caught fire and burned. …On May 14, Robinson, who was staying at a hotel with her children, received a call that Payou was being transported to the hospital after a tree fell on his head, leaving him unconscious.

The Western Canadian city of Calgary received a special weather alert on Tuesday, warning residents of poor air quality and reduced visibility as tinder-dry weather and shifting winds elevated the risk of spreading wildfires in the oil-producing province of Alberta. Some 90 wildfires are active in Alberta, with 23 out of control, according to the provincial government, forcing about 20,000 people out of their homes. At one point the fires forced oil and gas producers to shut in at least 319,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 3.7% of national production. …A cold front bringing gusty northwest wind, but little rain, was likely on Tuesday, according to Environment Canada’s weather department. The change in wind direction can pose a problem for firefighters as the path of the fires changes suddenly, said Christie Tucker, spokesperson for the Alberta Wildfire agency.

Southern Manitoba residents could start to see and smell it over the weekend and Monday, and as of Tuesday morning forest fire smoke has definitely arrived in the region. Environment Canada has issued a Special Air Quality Statement for much of the region west of the Red River to the Saskatchewan border, and northward to the Riding Mountain National Park area. “An upper northwesterly flow in the atmosphere has acted like a conveyor belt, transporting that forest fire smoke from northern Alberta and B.C. to our area,” explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. “Based on the current forecast models, it’s likely we will see hazy and smoky conditions for much of the week, ahead of May long weekend.”

ALBERTA — As frustration mounts over the response to wildfires that have forced thousands of Albertans to flee their homes and rural properties, one county is warning its residents against “unsanctioned acts” it says put lives in danger. The County of Grande Prairie issued a statement saying a member of the public who was operating their own personal bulldozer on Friday “put themselves and crews in danger by knocking trees into the fire and nearly running over fire crews and their equipment.” The statement says it’s imperative people understand that decisions on how to fight fires are highly coordinated and members of the public cannot act on their own, even if they mean well. …Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was in Grande Prairie… said the government had just approved construction of  “a pretty extensive fire guard for the city.”

With unseasonably hot weather forecast for most parts of British Columbia this weekend and into next week, people are encouraged to stay informed about potential risks. Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a special weather statement for unseasonably hot weather, which is expected to begin Friday, May 12, 2023, and last until Tuesday, May 16 on the coast, and Wednesday, May 17 in the Interior. …People are encouraged to frequently monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The forecast heat is expected to accelerate the snowmelt at higher elevations, which will increase pressure on the province’s rivers and streams. …People are advised to keep away from river edges and shorelines. …At this time of year, the main cause of wildfires is human activity. The BC Wildfire Service encourages everyone to exercise caution when conducting any open burning or participating in activities that could cause a wildfire.

Our Policy, Regulation and Research Department is requesting feedback on proposed amendments to Part 5, Chemical Agents and Biological Agents, sections 5.97 to 5.105, of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The consultation phase gives stakeholders an opportunity to share feedback before the proposed amendments are taken to public hearing. View the proposed regulatory amendments and information on how to provide feedback. Please provide your feedback by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 19, 2023.

Smoke from raging wildfires in Alberta now stretches across the country, creating hazy skies in several provinces. About 20,000 people have been forced from their homes while about 90 wildfires burn in Alberta, 25 of them listed as out of control blazes as of Tuesday morning. A real-time tracking map created by AirNow, which monitors wildfires and air quality in North America, shows the extent of the reach of smoke from the blazes. The map shows how the smoke first travelled north into Yukon and Northwest Territories before heading east into Nunavut. … Air quality statements are in effect for large portions of Alberta, into Sask. and B.C. due to the wildfire smoke. “Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,” ECCC warned on Tuesday.

GOLDEN, BC — Whether from wildfires or slash burning, where there is smoke, there is particulate. Particle pollution is a mixture of microscopic solids and liquid droplets suspended in air and produced by a variety of emissions such as wildfire smoke, open burning of slash, residential wood smoke, road dust and local industry activity, among others. Particulate matter impacts health and levels in Golden are often higher than in many other communities in the province. …By virtue of the area’s topography, inversions are common, particularly in winter when many residents burn wood to heat their homes, says Town of Golden Mayor Ron Oszust. …“The catalyst was the industry slash pile” he said. “We realized it would be a whole lot better to have a bit of smoke than to have a full-out forest fire at our doorstep burning us out.”

Lighter than expected rainfall last weekend has relieved pressure on watersheds in B.C.’s Interior, however, people are urged to remain vigilant as conditions can change quickly and warm temperatures are expected this weekend. Based on forecasting from Environment and Climate Change Canada and the River Forecast Centre, precipitation levels for this week are expected to be mild, which will give rivers and streams in the Interior time to stabilize. Warming temperatures … are expected to progress the snowmelt at higher elevations, which may reintroduce pressure on watersheds in the Interior and increase the risk of wildfire. …There are currently 62 active wildfires in BC, with two new fires over the past 24-hours. Of these 62 active incidents, 91% are under control or being held. Only five active incidents remain out of control. The BC Wildfire Service is also providing wildfire response support to Alberta and has deployed one Incident Management Team, structure protection crews and equipment.

British Columbia’s government is bracing for more spring flood events and early-season wildfires this month, as several communities across the province recover from natural disasters that hit last week. Bowinn Ma, the minister of emergency management and climate readiness, and Bruce Ralston, the forests minister, provided an update Monday afternoon on flooding and wildfires of concern in B.C. The event was held after three Broadcast Intrusive Alerts were issued over the weekend for communities Peace River region due to wildfires, while other regions in the Southern Interior dealt with flooding in the wake of rapid snow melt. “Fortunately, over the weekend, the rain was less severe than forecasted. Because of this, communities that faces challenges last week such as Cache Creek, Okanagan Indian Band and Grand Forks can expect a period of stabilization for the rivers throughout this week,” Ma said, addressing the flooding events specifically.

High temperatures have caused flooding, landslides, and avalanches in various parts of British Columbia this spring. These events occur more frequently with extreme weather and can pose significant risks to workers finding their way to bush camps. The recent highway closures in Cache Creek resulted in multiple groups of workers attempting to follow overland routes identified in Google Maps and several brushes with disaster. In one case, a group of workers nearly slid off a steep wilderness road northwest of Kamloops after having to turn around due to flooding and washouts. Contractors should communicate with their workers and provide clear instructions for safe travel to the worksite, monitor changes in conditions and road closures, and provide updates to workers through mailing lists or other means.