America is on a lumber binge (treated wood shortages, futures up 85%), but paper mills regress (two Maine operations close). In related news: the US Northeast struggles amid Covid-19; little help for Mackenzie, BC despite Premier’s tough talk; and the Steelworkers speak to problems with international trade. Companies in the news include: Domtar—Kamloops (emissions odour); Brinks Forest Products (chip pile fire); Hood Container (mill investment); and CN Rail (wildfire appeal loss).
In other news: BC’s forestry watchdog finds issues with Quesnel timber sales; Northeast Ontario struggles with the spruce budworm; and the US Forest Service assesses conditions in northwest forests. Meanwhile: Notre Dame is to be rebuilt just as it was before; Russian firefighters are seeding clouds to douse wildfires, and Ontario’s heat wave exacerbates its fire challenges.
Finally, if you like the Sounds of the Forest, you’ll like these audio postcards.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
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PRINCE GEORGE -A fire at Brink Forest Products on River Road early yesterday afternoon ,remains under investigation. Crews arrived to find on site crews working to contain a large chip pile on fire in the building. The fire was quickly extinguished ,causing some $10,000 damage. There were no injuries. …Smoke could be seen coming from the building and the staff was evacuated. Prince George Fire Rescue say the fire was the result of a chip pile fire. The fire resulted in the closure of River Road near the Cameron Street Bridge. [END]
An appeal by CN Rail against a 2018 decision regarding fines levied for a fire in 2015 near Lytton has not gone CN’s way. The railway has been ordered to pay $16,619,782.70 in fines for the 2015 Cisco Road Wildfire. The 54-page decision from March 2020 comes from the Forest Appeals Commission, which heard the case after CN put in their appeal in 2018. The original fine was levied by the fire centre manager in Prince George. “CN accepted responsibility for the contraventions and the administrative penalty. CN did not dispute the amounts assessed in the order for the value of damaged or destroyed Crown timber, and silviculture and reforestation,” states a summary of the decision from the FAC. “However, CN disputed the amounts assessed for fire control costs, and ‘other forest land resources’ and ‘grassland resources’ that were damaged or destroyed by the wildfire.”
The hottest commodity in the U.S. these days is wood. Prices for forest products like lumber and plywood have soared because of booming demand from home builders making up for lost time, a DIY explosion sparked by stay-at-home orders and a race among restaurants and bars to install outdoor seating areas. Lumber futures are up more than 85% since April 1. Lumber for July delivery settled Thursday at $499 per thousand board feet while the more heavily traded September futures ended at $481.90. Both are above the pre-pandemic high of $463.00, set during the hottest home-building market since 2006. Lumber futures seldom trade above $450. …Harvard University’s closely followed forecast of home-renovation spending predicted a slowdown in a market that for years has been a bright spot in the economy. But the model couldn’t have predicted a pandemic that kept Americans at home for months. Mill orders backed up. [We respect the copyrights of the source publication – full access may require a subscription]
VICTORIA – An audit of the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) program and timber-sale licensees operating under the program has found poor results. Timber sales licensees were fully compliant with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) but had several non-compliances with Wildfire Act requirements. BCTS had several non-compliance issues under FRPA, as well as an unsound practice. The audit found that BCTS did not meet FRPA requirements for construction of a road and three bridges and for not reporting silviculture activities to government. Plans for the constructed bridges also were not adequate. “Although our recent special investigation found that bridge construction practices are better than what we found in 2014, this audit demonstrates that there is still room for improvement,” said Kevin Kriese, board chair, Forest Practices Board.
