Wildfires intensify in Canada prompting US warnings over smoke. In related news: US Ambassador Hoekstra says Trump is serious about wildfire tariffs; Ontario Premier Ford calls US criticism unacceptable; smoke from US wildfires is affecting BC’s air quality; Ontario wildfires ravage another First Nation, and disrupt Domtar’s forestry operations; and Oregon governor Kotek invokes the Conflagration Act–again. Meanwhile: University of Calgary researchers warn that wildfire smoke may also affect your brain.
In Business news: fallout from Canfor’s mill closure includes the union seeking retirement bridging; and Vaughn Palmer saying the province was warned years ago. Meanwhile: Stewart Muir says BC’s forest policies are worsening Canada’s climate problem; an Oregon commentator says mill closures make it harder to reduce wildfire risk; Blueberry River First Nations is developing a native plant orchard; and US states can’t offset the weakened federal endangered-species habitat protections.
Finally, on mass timber, the Florida Building Commission can’t see the forest for the trees. Busy news day… see all the stories in today’s Tree Frog.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Saturday blasted the criticism leveled at the Canadian government by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans over its handling of raging wildfires as “totally unacceptable.” “We’re trying to get through this,” Ford said, calling the rhetoric coming from some in the US “shameful.” President Trump threatened on Friday to impose additional tariffs on Canada over what he described as the government’s “willful negligence” and refusal to engage in “basic Forest Management”. The president said he planned to call Prime Minister Mark Carney to “find out what they are going to do” about the hundreds of wildfires raging across Canada. There were 955 active fires as of Saturday. Ford described current conditions as a “terrible scenario”. …Ford suggested those lawmakers have a “short, short memory,” noting how Canadian hydro-linemen and water bombers assisted in battling wildfires in California, Georgia and South Carolina last year.
US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says President Trump‘s threat to impose new tariffs over smoke from Canadian wildfires should be taken seriously. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed several major American cities. “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said the wildfire smoke amounts to “Willful Negligence” and is “costing the US Billions of Dollars.” He added that the cost of the pollution “is incalculable” and should be “added to the tariffs Canada currently pays.” …Hoekstra would not say how large any potential tariffs could be or what legal mechanism the administration might use to impose them. But he said Canada could face consequences if the issue is not addressed. …The criticism comes despite the administration’s own moves to scale back US climate action.
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The closure of Canfor’s Northwood pulp mill is putting renewed pressure on governments to support forestry workers in Prince George, with both union and political voices pointing to retirement bridging as one of the most urgent needs for workers facing job loss. The Northwood closure has left workers trying to understand what comes next, including when their jobs will end and whether there will be comparable work available in the region. Chuck LeBlanc, National President of PPWC, says many workers are still processing the announcement. …But finding similar work in Prince George could be difficult as there are fewer options left following years of mill closures and downsizing. …LeBlanc says one support that has been pushed before is bridging to retirement, a program that could help older workers leave the workforce with financial assistance while opening up jobs for others lower on the seniority list.
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina — The fourth floor of the new apartment building on Long Shoals Road is designed like the upper levels of countless other rental blocks: A staircase on one end of the floor is connected by a long corridor to another set of stairs at the opposite end. Floor plans with two sets of stairs are mandated by decades-old building-code requirements based on outdated fire-safety concerns. …Eliminating the second-staircase rule would cut construction costs and open up more income–generating living space. …Citing such potential benefits, state Sen. Julie Mayfield, and Sen. Tim Moffitt co-sponsored a bill, that would end the second-staircase mandate for apartment buildings up to 75 feet tall. Firefighting groups oppose the bill, not all local builders are convinced it will be a difference maker, and its progress stalled. …The effectiveness of such features can be seen in New York City and Seattle.
NEW ZEALAND — With El Nio forecast to bring drier, windier conditions and elevated fire danger across many parts of New Zealand this summer, maintaining a strong level of readiness will be particularly important. A 
BC’s wildfire emissions in 2023 exceeded those of seven of the world’s ten largest national emitters. …At the same time, provincial policy has systematically reduced the managed forest harvest and shuttered 21 mills since 2023. …The policy of locking forests away from active management—while presented as environmental protection—is contributing to the very climate outcome it claims to prevent. Decadent, unmanaged stands are the fuel that feeds catastrophic wildfire. A well-managed, productive forest economy would reduce Canada’s climate impact more than any policy of exclusion. …The argument for locking forests away from harvest assumes that standing forests are always a carbon sink—absorbing more CO₂ than they release. This is true for young, actively growing forests. It is not true for old, decadent stands. …The solution is not less forestry. It is more forestry—done well, done sustainably, and done with the explicit goal of reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions: uncontrolled wildfire in unmanaged forests.
The perils of wildfire smoke don’t stop at the lungs or the heart. They can also affect the brain. Recent research shows tiny particles from wildfire smoke — known as PM2.5, fine particulate matter — are so small they can travel deep into the lungs. But they don’t always end their journey there. Some slip into the bloodstream, or get to the brain directly through the nose, says Dr. Bhavini Gohel of the University of Calgary’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health. When toxins reach the brain, they can cause inflammation, resulting in fogginess, lack of focus and headache, she says. Increasing exposure to these harmful particles can also cause long-term damage to brain cells leading to cognitive decline. …The Climate Health System Alliance, says an increasing exposure to this air can lead to dementia. …A study found people living in areas with higher air pollution scored worse on memory tests.
