Daily News for August 07, 2025

Today’s Takeaway

More US lawmakers call out Canada as wildfire smoke drifts south

The Tree Frog Forestry News
August 7, 2025
Category: Today's Takeaway

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

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Business & Politics

International solidarity is always the answer

By Marty Warren, Canada National Director
United Steelworkers
August 7, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

For us Steelworkers, international solidarity runs deep in our veins. It is the lifeblood of our union… Currently, we are facing tremendous challenges on both sides of the border. Here in Canada, our jobs are facing a great deal of uncertainty and the cost of living has continued to rise, with little affordable housing available in the backdrop of a contracting economy. Members and people across Canada more generally are worried and reasonably so. In the U.S., hundreds of thousands of jobs are being cut from the public sector, rights are being rolled back with each passing day, immigration raids are terrorizing communities and life is growing more expensive, worsened by an ongoing trade war. That is why our union has taken on this tariff fight with such gusto. …I have worked alongside USW International President Dave McCall and [others] on the issue of the reckless tariffs levied against Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Tariff Rate Quotas: A New Strategy for Canada-US Trade Talks

Canadian Politics and Public Policy
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Fen Osler Hampson

In the aftermath of the decision by the US to ratchet up tariffs to 35% on all non-CUSMA-compliant Canadian exports, Canada finds itself at a crossroads. …Automobiles and softwood lumber are also in his crosshairs. Unless there is a breakthrough in talks soon, or relief through successful court challenges… further trouble may arise unless we adjust our strategy. The time has come for Canadian negotiators to consider redirecting talks away from tariffs to tariff rate quota-based (TRQ) trade. …By their nature, tariffs are blunt instruments. When the US slaps a 35% duty at the border, Canadian producers do not recoup any benefit; rather, it is the US Treasury that lines its pockets. Quotas, on the other hand, set a ceiling for managed trade. …BC Premier David Eby has called for TRQs instead of tariffs on BC lumber exports to the US. The same principle should be applied to Canadian exports in steel, aluminum, and autos.

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Northwest mayors cheer Ottawa aid package to backstop forest industry

Northern Ontario Business
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

A $1.2-billion lifeline from Ottawa that’s being thrown to the forest industry is welcome news to northwestern Ontario mayors and the Canadian Wood Council. …The 37-member Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) called it a “significant and timely commitment to ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the forest sector” and comes at a crucial time when local jobs, economic growth and municipal stability is on the line. …“These measures recognize the vital role of forestry in Northwestern Ontario and across Canada,” said Marathon Mayor and NOMA president Rick Dubas in a statement, “helping our sector adapt to ongoing trade challenges, protect local jobs, and create opportunities for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.”

In related coverage:

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‘Great News – But Not Enough’: B.C. Leaders Weigh In on Federal Lumber Aid”

By Jeff Andreas
Radio NL 610 AM
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia’s forestry leaders offer a mix of praise and caution following the announcement of federal aid for Canada’s lumber industry. While both welcomed the support, they emphasized the urgent need for fiber access and resolving the US trade dispute. B.C. Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar called the federal funding package “really good news” and a long-overdue show of federal support for a sector that has long felt sidelined in Ottawa. …Parmar emphasized that B.C., as the world’s second-largest exporter of softwood lumber, must receive a proportional share of the funding to modernize its mills and build new global partnerships. …B.C. Conservative forestry critic Ward Stamer, welcomed the funding as a positive sign of federal commitment but warned that the underlying problems plaguing B.C.’s forestry industry remain unaddressed. …“It shows the federal government understands how important the forest industry is not just to B.C., but to the whole country,” said Stamer.

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Fire out at Kalesnikoff Lumber

By Greg Nesteroff
My Kootenay Now
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

CASTLEGAR, BC — No one was injured in a fire at Kalesnikoff Lumber this afternoon, but damage is described as “significant.” Tarrys Fire Chief Greg Patterson said five fire departments responded to the call at about 1 p.m. and spent three hours on the scene. The sawmill’s own fire brigade did their own initial attack, which was “a great benefit.” The cause was a fan bearing that overheated in a mechanical room at the southeast corner of the mill, Patterson said. Radiant heat spread the fire into walls. …“There’s definitely some significant damage to the mill, but things that can be repaired and replaced, and the structure itself is still sound.” …Castlegar provided aerial apparatus to give firefighters the height they needed to attack the fire. Patterson said Kalesnikoff is assessing the damage, but he didn’t think that it would prevent the mill from continuing to operate.

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More Republican lawmakers call out Canada over wildfire smoke

By Kelly Geraldine Malone
Canadian Press in CTV News
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — More Republican lawmakers are calling out Canada because of wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states. Wisconsin state Rep. Calvin Callahan has joined other Republican state lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota in filing a formal complaint against Canada to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Joint Commission. In a news release issued today, Callahan says that “if Canada can’t get these wildfires under control, they need to face real consequences.” He joins a chorus of Republican politicians at other levels of government who have been voicing concerns about Canada’s wildfires. Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman sent a letter to Canadian Sen. Michael MacDonald on Monday calling for stronger forest management policies and more accountability from Canadian officials. Michigan Rep. John James sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week saying his constituents are choking on toxic wildfire smoke.

 

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Weyerhaeuser celebrates 125 years in business

The Neshoba Democrat
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

On Jan. 18, 1900, Frederick Weyerhaeuser and 15 associates purchased 900,000 acres of Washington state timberlands from the Northern Pacific Railway. In establishing their company, Weyerhaeuser took a long-term view. “This is not for us,” he said, “nor for our children, but for our grandchildren.” Today, Weyerhaeuser stands as the largest private owner of timberlands in the U.S. and one of the largest wood products manufacturers in North America, but those words still serve as a reminder of the values upon which the company was built. Weyerhaeuser began operating in Mississippi in 1956 and today owns or manages more than 1.1 million acres of timberlands and employs more than 700 people in the state. Weyerhaeuser began operations in Philadelphia in 1967 when it purchased the sawmill operation from the A. DeWeese Lumber Company.

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Riverside Forest Products plans to open Forks, Washington sawmill

By Allora Walls
Peninsula Daily News
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

FORKS, Washington — After more than a decade of vacancy, the Forks industrial park is preparing to welcome a major new tenant. Riverside Forest Products, a Canada-based company with decades of experience in wood manufacturing, is moving forward with plans to open a sawmill on the site, representing a $12 million capital investment, according to city officials. The Forks City Council recently authorized the mayor and staff to proceed with a lease agreement with Riverside, signaling a major step toward revitalizing the site. The property was previously home to Allen Logging and Interfor, but it has sat largely unused for about 10 years, aside from a small custom mill currently in operation. …Officials said the sawmill project has the potential to bring much-needed jobs and economic activity back to Forks. The city council is expected to discuss infrastructure, funding options and a project timeline in future meetings.

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Domtar digester construction to start next week, resident vents frustration over odor

By Jorgelina Manna-Rea
Johnson City Press
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

KINGSPORT, Tennessee — Vera Gilmer, a 30-year Kingsport resident, arrived at the Kingsport Economic Development Board meeting for the update on Domtar’s packaging mill. She shared her frustration with the board about the mill’s odor over the last month. …Gilmer stressed that the smell has worsened recently. …Domtar mill manager Troy Wilson gave an update on the digester’s construction and addressed what could possibly worsen Domtar’s odor in the meantime. …Wilson said worsening odor is likely attributable to Domtar’s current wastewater treatment system, a lagoon system which he described as “antiquated” and sensitive to the weather. He also shared that the rainstorm that passed over Kingsport Wednesday last week put a strain on the wastewater system. …Domtar has spent $20 million on the digester so far. At its peak, the digester project will employ 140 people, according to Wilson.

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Finance & Economics

Our leaders keep talking about the housing crisis. So why on earth are we building way fewer homes?

By Mike Moffatt
The Hub
August 6, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has just issued a sobering warning to policymakers regarding the state of Canadian housing. Yet, governments do not appear to be getting the message, nor do they seem willing to take the necessary steps to address the crisis. In their Summer 2025 outlook, the CMHC forecasts that housing starts will fall to 220,000 units by 2027, a nearly 20 percent reduction from 2021’s levels, which exceeded 270,000 units. This forecast is 13,000 homes lower than in their February 2025 release and comes under the backdrop of a Liberal government that promised to “double Canada’s current rate of residential construction over the next decade to reach 500,000 homes per year.” The forecasted decline is almost entirely isolated to British Columbia and Ontario. …Demand from homebuyers has declined substantially, as a combination of a weak economy and the post-2021 rise in interest rates has made purchasing new homes unattractive.

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Cascades reports Q2, 2025 net loss of $3 million

Cascades Inc.
August 7, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

KINGSEY FALLS, Quebec — Cascades reported its unaudited financial results for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025. Q2 2025 Highlights include: Sales of $1,187 million (compared with $1,154 million in Q1 2025 and $1,180 million in Q2 2024); Operating income of $36 million (compared with $50 million in Q1 2025 and $34 million in Q2 2024); Net loss per common share of ($0.03) (compared with net earnings per common share of $0.07 in Q1 2025 and net earnings per common share of $0.01 in Q2 2024); and Adjusted earnings (EBITDA of $137 million (compared with $125 million in Q1 2025 and $112 million in Q2 2024). Cascades CEO Hugues commented, “We are anticipating third quarter performance to be slightly higher sequentially. 

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America’s Housing Supply Crisis: Is the Suburban Frontier Closing?

NAHB Eye on Housing
August 6, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

American housing market is facing a persistent shortage. Home prices have reached historic highs and affordability has declined. Normally, in response to higher prices, housing supply would increase. However, new home construction has not kept pace with population growth and household formation. Recent research has claimed that the relationship between prices and supply has become diluted over time because of regulatory barriers and political dynamics.  A recent working paper “America’s Housing Supply Problem: the Closing of the Suburban Frontier?by economist Edward Glaser and Joseph Gyourko, took a deep dive into why the supply of new housing has shifted lower. …This research showed that the once-strong link between increasing home prices and new home constructions has weakened or even reversed in many metro areas. …The striking finding of this new analysis is that the traditional engine of home building in the South is weakening.

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Suzano reports Q2, 2025 net income of R$5 Billion

Suzano
August 6, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: International

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Suzano announced its consolidated results for the second quarter of 2025. Compared to 1Q25, the 15% increase is explained by the higher sales volumes of pulp (+23%) and paper (+5%). Highlights include: Net Revenue of R$13.3 billion and Net Income of R$5.0 billion; Pulp sales of 3,269 thousand tonnes (+28% vs. 2Q24), and Paper sales of 411 thousand tonnes (+24% vs. 2Q24). …In April 2025, the United States government announced the implementation of an import tariff program. In July 2025, it was announced that a 50% tariff would be applied to products imported from Brazil, effective as of August 2025. In the context of the Company’s operations, pulp exports remain exempt from this additional tariff. …However, certain paper products within its portfolio were included in the 50% tariff scope.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Mayor’s mass timber motion receives unanimous support from Halifax council

By Glenn MacDonald
The Chronicle Herald
August 6, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

There may have been dissension surrounding the Morris Street bikeway, but the Halifax mayor and regional council found common ground with mass timber. Mayor Andy Fillmore tabled a motion at Tuesday’s council meeting to direct the chief administrative officer to prepare a staff report that, with changes to land-use bylaws and amendments to a municipal planning strategy, would knock down barriers to mass timber construction to help expedite housing builds. That would include the potential to increase the height of built-form requirements from 10 to 12 storeys for mass timber construction. The motion passed unanimously. “The principal reason (for supporting the mayor’s motion) is that this unlocks some newfound potential in local supply,” Coun. Jean St-Amand (Bedford-Wentworth) said. “I think that’s something that can have a very positive impact to the acceleration of our ability and our capacity to build.

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Ontario’s prefab wood industry poised to deliver 24,000 homes annually — without new infrastructure

By Mike Phillips, Ontario Structural Wood Association
Ontario Construction News
August 7, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

In recent years, a growing number of reports and policy papers have proposed solutions to address Ontario’s short- and medium-term housing needs — pointing to off-site prefabrication as a key part of the solution. The Ontario Structural Wood Association (OSWA) believes there is already a cost-effective, immediate solution: using the existing capacity of the light wood framing (LWF) industry. What the industry needs is not more infrastructure, but a clear signal in the form of orders — and a commitment that those orders will continue, to support investments in manufacturing platforms. With that assurance, we can build what is needed. To demonstrate that Ontario already has this production capacity, OSWA conducted a survey of the LWF industry in spring 2025, with a particular focus on panel manufacturing. 

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Forestry

It’s time for the feds to intervene on wildfire fighting efforts

By Allison Smith
Toronto Today
August 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, smog days were par for the course. …We’ve traded our smog days for smoke days. …Improving wildfire response should be an imperative of Prime Minister Mark Carney and his newly formed government. …Wildfires will burn no matter how many waterbombers Canada has, but there is no question there would be fewer homes destroyed, less First Nations forced to evacuate and fewer air quality alerts issued if Saskatchewan had 600 aircraft in action right now, rather than six. …Let’s turn this whole country into a waterbomber assembly line. The demand isn’t going anywhere — domestically or internationally. …In the meantime, the federal government needs to ramp up funding transfers to the provinces for wildfire fighter and pilot training programs and equipment purchases. …Getting forest fires under control is also an act of sovereignty. 

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BC Wildfire Service warns of sharing AI-generated images of fires

By Amy Judd
Global News
August 5, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The BC Wildfire Service is warning people about sharing unverified images online of what are AI-generated images of wildfires. In a post on Facebook, the service said that while social media can be a great resource for information and updates, wildfire seasons can also be a “time of fear and anxiety and during times of concern misinformation can spread quickly and add to the uncertainty.” The post included two images, which the BC Wildfire Service said have been circulating on social media over the past few weeks. “In the photos… you can see images generated with artificial intelligence that were shared by other accounts and seemingly show recent wildfires,” the organization said. “However, they do not accurately represent the terrain, fire size or fire behaviour in the area. Someone scrolling past could believe this image is real or accurate when it is not.”

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Mining, Forestry, Reconciliation: Parliamentary Secretary Guay Brings the Conversation to Northern Quebec

Natural Resources Canada
August 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Fostering inclusive economic development and ensuring that local communities, including Indigenous partners, benefit from these opportunities are key priorities for the Government of Canada. Today, Claude Guay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, concluded a two-day tour of Northern Quebec, where he highlighted the importance of Quebec’s mining and forest sectors in building Canada’s supply chains and export opportunities, creating good jobs, and strengthening reconciliation… Parliamentary Secretary Guay concluded the trip with a visit to Les Chantiers Chibougamau’s Kraft Pulp Mill in Lebel-sur-Quevillon and their head manufacturing plant in Chibougamau. These sites are key examples of Quebec’s forest sector excellence and innovation in modernizing the industry, accelerating affordable housing and promoting green construction using value-added Canadian wood-based products.

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Sustainable Forestry Initiative supports 9th American Forest Congress Resolutions

Sustainable Forestry Initiative
August 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Washington, D.C.—The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is proud to support the outcomes of the 9th American Forest Congress (AFC), including resolutions to help forests thrive in a changing climate, support expanded markets for forest products, advance forest research, and invest in workforce development. “Responsibly managed forests play a critical role in advancing our nation’s economy, environment, and social fabric. SFI proudly supports the 9th American Forest Congress resolutions and the spirit of collaboration to move these actions forward. SFI and our network are taking a leadership role in developing data-driven practices to improve current and future forest health and productivity, while training forest managers to use these practices and related strategies to empower decisions on the ground,” said Nadine Block, Senior VP of Network Initiatives at SFI.

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Novel Research Reveals Thriving Microbial Life in Trees

Yale School of the Environment
August 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

There’s a thriving community of diverse microbes living in tree wood, a new study led by a Yale School of the Environment team of scientists has found. A single tree hosts about one trillion bacteria in its woody tissue. Trees are Earth’s largest biomass reservoir and store more than 300 gigatons of carbon. However, what is living in their wood has largely been unexplored. The study, published in Nature and led by YSE doctoral candidate Jonathan Gewirtzman and Wyatt Arnold ’24, establishes a new frontier for understanding tree physiology and forest ecology that can assist in forecasting forest response to future change and help trees adapt to climate change. “Understanding these internal ecosystems gives us insights into trees’ broader biogeochemical functions and how they might contribute to forest carbon cycling and nutrient exchange processes in ways we hadn’t fully considered before,” Gewirtzman said.

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Southeast timber operators say they are at risk for lack of logging sales

By Jasz Garrett
Wrangell Sentinel
August 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Trump administration has announced plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, changing the political and timber industry landscape in the Tongass National Forest for the third time in five years. The Roadless Rule prevents logging, road building and mining on national forest lands. It was last repealed in 2020 and restored in 2023, and has been subject to decades of debate. Timber operators say the rescission could help a dying industry – if it passes through Congress. The U.S. Forest Service owns approximately 78% of the land in Southeast Alaska, meaning timber operators are dependent on the federal agency for a majority of their supply. Kirk Dahlstrom, co-owner of Viking Lumber Co. in Klawock, said the agency is nine years behind on offering timber supply for the Southeast industry. He said his business will not survive if land management remains under Forest Service control. “We got starved to almost nothing.”

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Washington State Braces for ‘Inevitable’ Megafire. Climate Change May Bring It Sooner.

By Rebecca Dzombak
The New York Times
August 6, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

Western Washington state is one of the wettest places in the country. In the North Cascade mountains and on the Olympic Peninsula, lush cedars, ferns and mosses form classic Pacific Northwest rainforests. But even here, climate change is making wildfires more likely. And the state is figuring out how to respond. “It used to be that it really wasn’t until mid-August that fuels dried out in western Washington,” said Derek Churchill, a forest health scientist at the Washington Department of Natural Resources. “Now it’s July or earlier.” In fact, last month human activity started a wildfire in the Olympic national forest. As of Tuesday, it had grown to more than 5,100 acres and some campgrounds were under evacuation orders… But global warming is changing fire patterns in the state. Washington’s summers are growing longer, hotter and drier, resulting in an extended fire season with more desiccated fuel available. [A free account is required to read this article]

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Forest Fires

Wildfires push thousands from homes in Manitoba, Newfoundland, while areas of Nova Scotia on high alert

By Temur Durrani and Mike Hager
The Globe and Mail
August 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

Rapidly growing wildfires in several provinces forced thousands of people from their homes and prompted air-quality warnings in cities thousands of kilometres away, while hot and dry conditions had other areas on high alert, including Nova Scotia, where the government banned most summertime activities in wooded areas. The deteriorating conditions have added up to a wildfire season that is on track to be one of Canada’s worst on record in terms of area burned, second only to 2023. As of Tuesday, at least 15,000 people were under evacuation orders in Manitoba, largely in the province’s north, while fires on Newfoundland and Labrador’s Avalon Peninsula had forced around 600 people from their homes. Across the country, more than 760 wildfires are burning, at least 205 of them deemed out of control. About 6.8 million hectares of land have burned so far this year.

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B.C.’s wildfire situation remains manageable after 70,000 lightning strikes

By Mark Page
Parksville Qualicum Beach News
August 6, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Forest Minister Ravi Parmar told reporters on Wednesday (Aug. 6) that in the past week, roughly 70,000 lightning strikes have hit B.C., leading to a “sudden increase” in fire activity.  He also said that the B.C. Wildfire Service has largely been able to keep the fires from spreading. So far this season, more than 850 wildfires have sparked in B.C, but the province has kept 85 per cent of them smaller than four hectares, and only 120 were active on Aug. 6. As of Aug. 11 last year, there had been more than 1,300 fires, with almost 400 still active on that date. The only current “wildfire of note” is the Wesley Ridge fire on Vancouver Island. The fire is at Cameron Lake, between Parksville and Port Alberni, and is 530 hectares in size. Evacuation orders are in place for 400 homes, and 700 more are on evacuation alert.

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Calm wildfire season in Quebec can’t keep the smoke away

By Charlotte Lepage
CBC News
August 6, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

The air quality has finally improved after several days of wildfire smoke hanging over much of southern Quebec. Montreal, along with several other cities in the province, were dealt an air quality advisory starting Saturday and clearing up Monday evening. But this year, the smoke causing the poor air quality isn’t coming from within the province but rather from the fires raging in the Prairies. While Quebec is seeing a rather tame wildfire season, this year is still gearing up to be another intense season for other parts of Canada. So far, 2025 has seen wildfires consume 6.5 million hectares. Last year the number totalled 5.3 million, and in 2023 — Canada’s worst wildfire season on record — a little over 16 million hectares burned.  “The thing that is quite exceptional right now is that we had three years in a row with very, very high fire activity in Canada,” said Boulanger. The three most active fire seasons since 1995 have been recorded between 2023 and 2025, he said.

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Wildfire in southern France surpasses the size of Paris, continues to spread

France 24
August 6, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

France’s biggest wildfire this summer was spreading quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near the Spanish border after leaving one person dead, authorities said. The fire had burned an area larger than Paris. About 2,000 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battled the blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural, wooded area that is home to wineries. The fire, which has burned 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), remained ‘’very active” on Wednesday, the local administration said in a statement. The weather was hot, dry and windy, making it difficult for firefighters to contain the blaze. One person died in their home, and at least 13 others were injured, including 11 firefighters, local authorities said. One person who was initially described as missing has been located and is safe. 

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