Daily News for August 21, 2025

Today’s Takeaway

Domtar to indefinitely idle its Grenada, Mississippi paper mill

The Tree Frog Forestry News
August 21, 2025
Category: Today's Takeaway

Domtar announced it will indefinitely idle its Grenada, Mississippi paper mill. In related news: International Paper sells its specialty pulp business; Lowes acquires Foundation Building Materials; Steelworker’s Brian Butler takes issue with Dallas Smith on Vancouver Island strike; and odor mitigation is underway at Domtar’s Kingsport mill. Meanwhile: lumber prices are tumbling; the largest freestanding mass-timber structure in the world nears completion; and the Paper and Packaging industry is ending its marketing check-off program. 

In Wildfire news: Canada’s Fire Chiefs call for a national fire-coordinating entity; BC insurers say rising risk is driving up premiums; BC coastal fires enter new era due to drought; BC forestry workers bear fire’s health and economic burden; and the high cost of Quebec’s record breaking 2023 fire season. South of the 49th: US Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz says US forests need less wildfire and more logging; Oregon ranchers are forced to delay wildfire projects; and internationally—Brazil suspends key rainforest protection measure. Meanwhile: the Canadian Wood Pellet Association highlight Asia’s energy transition; researchers probe black spruce growth; and the Canadian Institute of Forestry consolidates Free to Grow measures.

Finally, a new study shows how saving tigers also slashes carbon emissions.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor

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Business & Politics

‘It doesn’t get to the root issues’; Critic Stamer unsure if new forest policy official will be able to affect change

By Michael Reeve
CFJC Today Kamloops
August 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Ward Stamer

KAMLOOPS, BC — …Rick Doman was appointed as the new chair of the Forest Innovation Investment (FII) board. …While Doman brings more than 40 years of industry experience, B.C. Forest Critic Ward Stamer is unsure if it will lead to tangible changes. “I have all the confidence in someone like Rick Doman to be able to chair that,” highlighted Stamer. “But it doesn’t get to the root issues that we have right now in our forest industry. One of them is certainty of supply. We don’t have enough fibre for our manufacturing facilities and without that fibre, our secondary manufacturing — which is what FII is really set up for — isn’t going to have products to sell in the first place.” …Stamer doesn’t believe Doman can be successful in this new role because he isn’t being given the tools from the province to succeed.

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Labour rights are at the heart of the USW-LKSM strike on Vancouver Island

By Brian Butler, president of United Steelworkers Local 1-1937
The Times Colonist
August 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Brian Butler

Dallas Smith’s Aug. 16 commentary, “Indigenous rights are key to resolving strike,” rightly emphasizes the need for stability in the forest industry. …However, one company that stands apart in rejecting that stability is La-kwa sa muqw Forestry LP (LKSM). This company is refusing to follow the coast pattern collective agreement and the level playing field it provides. …While I agree with Smith that many bargaining proposals are agreed upon, it is incorrect for him to say wages and monetary terms are settled. …Smith’s commentary suggests our constitutional right to collectively bargain is “inconsistent with Indigenous self-determination and constitutionally protected rights.” We strongly disagree. It also claims that introducing a non-union contractor aligns with the 2019 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). Again, we reject the notion that constitutionally protected, and provincially regulated labour rights can be overridden simply because an employer — regardless of Indigenous ownership — wants to contract out union jobs.

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Lowe’s to buy Foundation Building Materials for $8.8-billion to boost contractor business

Lowe’s Companies Inc.
August 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

MOORESVILLE, North Carolina — Lowe’s Companies announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Foundation Building Materials (FBM) for approximately $8.8 billion. FBM is a leading North American distributor of interior building products. …Since 2011, FBM has grown to a network of over 370 locations in the United States and Canada serving 40,000 Pro customers. In 2024, on a pro forma basis, FBM generated approximately $6.5 billion in revenue. FBM is expected to accelerate Lowe’s Total Home strategy by enhancing its offering to Pro customers through expanded capabilities, faster fulfillment, improved digital tools, a robust trade credit platform, and significant cross-selling opportunities between FBM and Lowe’s as well as the recently acquired Artisan Design Group. …Ruben Mendoza and the senior leadership team will continue to lead FBM… and collaborate closely with Lowe’s for their Pro customers.

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Domtar odor mitigation plan continues, demolition underway

By Belle Johnson
WJHL Tennessee
August 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

KINGSPORT, Tennessee – Domtar has announced progress is being made in the two-phase plan to help mitigate the odor coming from the Kingsport Domtar mill. About a month ago, the air permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation was approved, which allows for the beginning of phase two. Contractors are on site at the back of the Domtar Kingsport mill, demolishing current structures to make room for an anaerobic digester. Domtar’s VP for Strategic Capital, Charlie Floyd, said it will take over a year for construction to be completed. “The most intense construction time frame is going to be is actually going to start late this year, into the first six months of next year, with maxing out at a little bit over 150 contract employees,” Floyd said. Floyd said Domtar is currently using temporary solutions to help with odor mitigation.

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Domtar will indefinitely idle operations at its Grenada, Mississippi paper mill

By Adam Prestridge
The Northside Sun
August 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

MISSISSIPPI — Domtar Corporation will indefinitely idle operations at its Grenada, Miss., paper mill in September, marking a significant transition for an industrial cornerstone that has stood at 1000 Paper Mill Rd., for decades. Officials with Domtar, which purchased Resolute Forest Products in March 2023, announced the decision to its employees Wednesday, citing a response to newsprint market conditions. …The company is taking steps to ensure a safe and orderly wind-down of production and is committed to supporting the more than 160 employees, their families and the Grenada community through career transition resources, benefits guidance and transparent communication during this period. Matthew Harrison, president & CEO for the Greater Grenada Partnership, said Domtar’s announcement is a transitional period for Grenada County. …Harrison added that the mill’s closure is “difficult,” but not the end of Grenada’s story.

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International Paper to Sell Fibers Business for $1.5 Billion

International Paper
August 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — International Paper announced it has reached a definitive agreement with American Industrial Partners (AIP) to sell its Global Cellulose Fibers (GCF) business for $1.5 billion, subject to closing adjustments, including the issuance of preferred stock with an aggregate initial liquidation preference of $190 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. “GCF is a strong business, and I’m pleased to see it transitioning to AIP, which is focused on investing in and growing industrial businesses,” said IP Chief Executive Officer Andy Silvernail. In addition, its specialty pulp serves as a sustainable raw material used in construction materials, paints, coatings and more. GCF generated $2.8 billion in revenue in 2024 and has 3,300 employees globally, with nine manufacturing facilities and eight regional offices.

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Finance & Economics

Lumber prices are tumbling. Here’s what that means for the housing market now.

By Myra Saefong
Dow Jones in Morningstar
August 21, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber buyers placed unsuccessful bets on tariffs and interest rates Lumber prices have dropped by more than 14% from a record high in early August. Many home builders, contractors and retailers wagered that higher U.S. tariffs on imports would boost the cost of lumber, while lower interest rates would lift demand for the building material. But those bets have failed to pay off – and lumber prices have tallied a steep decline from a record high reached only three weeks ago. That price decline could lead to a drop in production at a time when home-building and housing demand starts to heat up. The demand component for spring 2025 was a “complete swing and a miss,” said Greg Kuta, at lumber broker Westline Capital Strategies. …On Tuesday, lumber futures for September delivery settled at $595.50 per thousand board feet. …Canadian mills are losing out with lumber prices well under the cost of production,” Kuta said.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Final mass-timber beam installed for new PNE amphitheatre’s roof

By Kenneth Chan
DH Urbanized
August 20, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

©PNE

VANCOUVER, BC — Construction on the new Freedom Mobile Arch amphitheatre at the PNE in Hastings Park reached a significant milestone, with the installation of the final segment of glulam beam for the landmark mass-timber roof structure. …In addition to the steel arches, there are 60 mass-timber arches arranged in six barrel vaulted segments, reaching a height of up to 82 ft. and spanning 344 ft. between buttress tips. These components form a starburst-shaped roof, the largest freestanding mass-timber structure of its kind in the world. The mass-timber roof design incorporates both glulam, which offers superior strength, and a cross-laminated timber deck made of three-ply Douglas Fir, which provides a structural diaphragm for stability. The project’s design firms are Revery Architecture, Fast + Epp Structural Engineers, and PFS Studio, and the general contractor is EllisDon. The long-planned venue’s very first event will be its use for Vancouver’s official FIFA World Cup Fan Festival.

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Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Industry Votes to End Its Marketing Program

Paper and Packaging Board
August 6, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The paper and paper-based packaging industry’s national research and promotion program, administered by the Paper and Packaging Board (P+PB), will not continue following the results of the July continuance referendum vote. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the results where 74% of manufacturers and importers voting, who represented 90% of the volume of paper and paper-based packaging voted in the referendum, were not in favor of continuing the program. For the referendum to pass, the number of voting companies and the voting tons they represent must be over 50% in favor of continuing the program.  …“While I am very disappointed by the results, I am proud of all the progress we have made as an industry speaking with one voice and the positive improvements in industry reputation and preference for its products,” said Mary Anne Hansan, president of P+PB. 

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Forestry

New approaches needed for Canada to prepare for, combat wildfires: experts

By Julia Wong
CBC News
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

…calls are growing for Canada to change how it prepares for, reacts and responds to the natural disasters. Experts say Ottawa needs to rethink how it deals with wildfires… Ken McMullen, the president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, which represents municipal firefighters, has been calling for the creation of a national fire administration. …When asked by CBC News if the federal government will create a new entity or program to improve wildfire response, federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said it is one idea under consideration. …While suppression is critical, Yolanda Clatworthy, the interim director of the Mitigating Wildfire Initiative, argues that it does not address the root cause of the wildfire crisis. …She said mitigation and prevention work can include choosing where homes are built, how communities are protected, how forests are managed, as well as supporting Indigenous fire stewardship and moving away from fossil fuel expansion.

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Free to Grow in Forestry Initiative announces new management structure

By Free to Grow in Forestry
LinkedIn
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

After much reflection on what is best to fulfill the mission of the Free to Grow in Forestry initiative, the Canadian Institute of Forestry / Institut forestier du Canada and Centre for Social Intelligence have decided to consolidate the management of it so as to create efficiencies and regular communications for our followers. Free to Grow in Forestry (FTGF) will build off the Canadian efforts to-date, maintaining those relations, while also expanding into the global arena. To that end, you will now see a refreshed Free to Grow in Forestry website. …At FTGF, we recognize that workplace culture issues (such as harassment, bullying, undermining, abuse of power, destruction of workplace relationships) are the primary reason people leave the forest sector – making it difficult to attract and retain top talent. The resources above aim to address these issues and support inclusive workplaces. Stay tuned for the September newsletter! 

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BC’s Coastal Fires Have Entered a New Era

By Tyler Olsen
The Tyee
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Mount Underwood fire near Port Alberni wasn’t your typical Vancouver Island blaze. But what is normal is changing. Thanks to droughts and heat waves, tiny fires that crews were once able to extinguish in a matter of hours are now ballooning into major blazes. Historically, fires have been nearly non-existent in coastal B.C., and the playbook for putting them out has been simple: Find fire. Spray water on it. Dig up hot spots. Case closed. This “direct attack” was possible because of the slow speed at which fires grow in coastal ecosystems. But the Mount Underwood fire, which ignited along the road connecting Port Alberni to Bamfield, spread rapidly, burning as a Rank 5 fire, with flames rising into the crowns of trees and up the mountainside. “In the seven years I’ve worked for the Coastal Fire Centre, I don’t think I’ve seen a fire like this on Vancouver Island,” Julia Caranci told CBC.

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Over 70,000 new trees have been planted in Narrow Hills Provincial Park since fire tore through area

By Aliyah Marko-Omene
CBC News
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Over 70,000 new trees have been planted in Narrow Hills Provincial Park after the destructive Shoe Fire ripped through the area in May. The park, about 130 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, Sask., is home to Gem Lakes and Lost Echo campgrounds, which remained closed for the season due to the wildfire. “There was a lot of enthusiasm to get the new life going back in the forest,” Pat MacKasey, a provincial park forest ecologist. MacKasey has been the supervisor of a five-person crew who have planted 73,080 Jack pine and white spruce trees since July. Trees have been planted in an area in Pine Lake that had previously been wiped out by a windstorm in the 1990s, he said. MacKasey says regrowth after that storm was slow, but new trees were eventually planted again in 2002 once forest health improved.

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Rising wildfire risk fuels stress in B.C. home insurance industry

By Bill Metcalfe
Comox Valley Record
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The number and severity of wildfire damage claims are increasing partly because fire seasons are longer with more hectares burned, according to IBC spokesperson Adam Sutherland. “As we see the frequency and severity of claims growing, that’s putting pressure on premiums. “We know the risk is only going to grow. Insurance puts a price on risk. That’s why it’s paramount that we do much, much more as a society to reduce that, to better fireproof our communities and better protect our homes.” He said in addition to government action to reduce fire danger in the forests, residents need more incentives to protect their properties. “But then we also need to rethink our building codes and how we are developing our communities in the first place. That means moving away from wood shingles, wood roofs. No more vinyl siding. We need non-combustible materials on homes and interface fire zones for all new development.”

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Forestry workers are on the frontlines of the wildfires

By Geoff Russ
Resource Works
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Forestry has long been a key pillar of British Columbia’s resource economy and is central to many regional economies, but for those who work in the forests, the industry is increasingly defined not by trees but by fire. Every year wildfires force loggers, silviculture crews, and sawmill suppliers to adapt to a landscape where risk is constant, work is precarious, and survival often depends on quick action. Few industries are more exposed to wildfire, and few workers bear the burden more. …The problem is twofold. Forestry workers are directly threatened by flames, smoke, and unstable terrain, but they are also squeezed by the economic impact of fires. The loss of timber means fewer shifts in the bush or at the mill. Salvaging burned wood is a partial solution, but even that requires speed and regulatory flexibility. …For forestry workers, wildfires are no longer seasonal events; they’re part of the job.

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Predicting the future of black spruce growth

University of Waterloo
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Trees are valuable components of the Canadian ecosystem and natural instruments of carbon storage and sequestration. A tree’s growth is controlled by regional climate, including growing season length and air temperature. It is also impacted by local hydroclimate; water and temperature variations that occur on a smaller scale. Black spruce trees are common within the boreal landscape of North America, including within fen wetlands. There is limited research on black spruce growth in fens, and how the unique hydroclimate of fens may impact tree growth in a changing climate. Tree core and ring samples were collected from both sites and placed within a microscope slide scanner. This allowed key tree growth characteristics to be identified on a cellular level. Correlation analysis was conducted between these growth characteristics and long-term climate data to determine the relationship between the two variables.

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Record-breaking wildfire season in 2023 cost Quebec more than $8B, new study finds

By Annabelle Olivier and Sharon Yonan-Renold
CBC News
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The historic wildfires that ripped through Quebec in 2023, destroying millions of hectares of forest and impacting thousands of people, is estimated to have cost over $8 billion. That’s according to a new provincially funded study published Wednesday by Nada Conseils — a climate action consultancy firm — highlighting the impacts and collective costs of the fires on citizens, governments, businesses and ecosystems. According to SOPFEU, the agency responsible for wildfire prevention and suppression in Quebec, the 2023 wildfire season was the worst in over 100 years with 713 fires — 99.9 per cent of which were caused by lightening — burning 4.3 million hectares of forest. …For governments, much of the costs incurred stemmed from firefighting operations, emergency services including evacuations and housing evacuees, and financial assistance programs. …The report notes that some of the most significant costs for citizens were linked to property damage, as well as financial impacts related to lost income and increased expenses.

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USFS chief Tom Schultz outlines vision for more logging, mining and grazing and less wildfire in America’s national forests

By Amanda Eggert
The Montana Free Press
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

©Facebook

WHITEFISH — U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Shultz on Tuesday said America’s national forests need less wildfire and more logging, mining, grazing and recreational activity. Schultz spoke at the Congressional Western Caucus conference where U.S. senators and representatives discussed policy with state officials, industry groups and prominent think tanks. Schultz said his approach will favor expedited review for natural resource development… He intends to aggressively suppress all wildfires and make more USFS land accessible for recreational use by motorized users and others. “America should mine, mill and manufacture more,” he said, adding that more of the country’s national forests will be available to log in the near and long term to comply with Trump’s executive orders and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Trump signed into law on July 4.  Schultz said implementing those directives will give companies more certainty to invest in lumber mills, which cost about $250 million to build. 

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With less federal funding, Oregon ranchers forced to delay wildfire resilience projects

By Alejandro Figueroa
Oregon Public Broadcasting
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Wildfires are a natural part of the landscape in much of Central and Eastern Oregon. James “Jim Bob” Collins has seen the damage a wildfire can cause and the effects it has on the land after the smoke clears. His district had worked for months to receive a $21 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would have gone to wildfire mitigation in forests and rangelands. But this summer, just as wildfire season was starting, the government walked back on its offer in Wheeler County and across the state. All told $90 million worth of conservation work is on hold across Oregon. That’s left ranchers like Collins and his neighbors, whose land bears the scars of last year’s fires, hoping the rest of this year’s wildfire season is uneventful, as he and the conservation district he serves explore new ways to pay for the work.

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Brazil authorities suspend key Amazon rainforest protection measure

By Jonathan Watts
The Guardian
August 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

One of the key agreements for Amazon rainforest protection – the soy moratorium – has been suspended by Brazilian authorities, potentially opening up an area the size of Portugal to destruction by farmers. Coming less than three months before Brazil hosts the Cop30 climate summit in Belém, the news has shocked conservation groups, who say it is now more important than ever that consumers, supermarkets and traders stand up against Brazilian agribusiness groups that are using their growing political power to reverse past environmental gains. Brazil is the world’s biggest soya bean exporter. The legume … posed a huge deforestation threat to the Amazon rainforest until stakeholders voluntarily agreed to impose a moratorium and no longer source it from the region in 2006. …Greenpeace Brazil called the move a “terrible mistake”, which was the result of political pressure from the “regressive wings of agribusiness”…

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Canadian Wood Pellets at the Forefront of Asia’s Energy Transition

By Gordon Murray
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
August 12, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) participated in the May 2025 BioInnovAsia Conference in Tokyo. The event underscored the shifting landscape—one where biomass is gaining recognition not only as a renewable energy source, but as a vital tool in decarbonizing some of the world’s toughest sectors. The conference featured two parallel tracks—Biofuels & Biocarbon Asia and Biomass Pellet Trade Asia—and drew strong participation from Japan, South Korea, and across the region. Attendees included power producers, industrial buyers, project developers, and policymakers—interested in how sustainable biomass can help meet energy security and climate goals. For WPAC and the broader Canadian pellet sector, the event was a great opportunity to reinforce Canada’s reputation as a trusted supplier of low-emission, high-quality pellets from responsibly managed, third-party certified sources.  It also offered critical insights into where the market is headed, and how we must evolve to stay ahead.

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Why saving tigers slashes carbon emissions

Nature
August 20, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

“Protecting diversity tends to be an afterthought when it comes to carbon-offsetting projects,” says conservation scientist Aakash Lamba, a CNCS postdoctoral research fellow. “The narrative at the moment is usually carbon first, biodiversity second.”In certain reforestation initiatives, for example, a single tree species might be planted because it can grow quickly and absorb large amounts of carbon in a short span of time. But the lack of diversity in such monocultures can lead to a slew of problems, including increased disease risk and soil degradation. Recognizing the interconnectedness of biodiversity and carbon offsetting goals could unlock unforeseen opportunities and funding for conservation programmes, Koh points out. The centre’s researchers have set about detailing how ‘win-win’ conservation projects have already brought about both biodiversity gains and carbon mitigation benefits. India’s tiger reserves provide a prime example of how habitat protection leads to more intact ecosystems and bolsters carbon sequestration.

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Health & Safety

Fears for B.C. First Nation’s water supply as fire evacuation orders and alerts end

By Chuck Chiang and Nono Shen
Canadian Press in the Victoria Times Colonist
August 21, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

Evacuation orders and alerts due to a wildfire on Vancouver Island have been lifted and downgraded, but First Nations say they are still feeling the impact, warning that a propane-powered water-supply system could fail unless gas deliveries are restored. The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council said the road linking the Huu-ay-aht and Ditidaht First Nations to Port Alberni had been cut by the Mount Underwood fire, and propane deliverers would not send trucks down an alternative forestry road. “The only other route out of their communities to Youbou is very rough and dangerous. Flat tires are a common occurrence,” the council said. …Judith Sayers, president of the tribal council, appealed for the Youbou road’s repair, calling propane delivery a “critical measure.” …The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, representing 14 First Nations on Vancouver Island, said four nations had been directly impacted by the fire, which is burning about 12 kilometres from Port Alberni and within their territories. 

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2025 New or Revised American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values and B.C. Exposure Limits

WorkSafeBC
August 21, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation provides that, except as otherwise determined by WorkSafeBC, an employer must ensure no worker is exposed to a substance exceeding the Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) prescribed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). …When WorkSafeBC adopts the new or revised ACGIH TLVs as regulatory exposure limits for chemical substances, these exposure limits are referred to as B.C. Exposure Limits (ELs). An EL is the maximum allowed airborne concentration for a chemical substance for which it is believed that nearly all workers may be exposed over a working lifetime and experience no adverse health effects. …The following substances with new or revised TLVs for 2025 have been added to the Table of Exposure Limits for Excluded Substances in Prevention Manual Item OHS Policy R5.48-1: Copper naphthenate, Inhalable Fraction & Vapour; Nicotine; and Nicotine, Inhalable Fraction & Vapour.

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Forest Fires

Firefighting crews tiring as wildfires still burn out of control in New Brunswick

By Katelin Belliveau and Hannah Rudderham
CBC News
August 20, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

There were 20 active fires and five out of control on Wednesday in New Brunswick, according to an update from the province. The province’s fire watch dashboard, however, fluctuates often, depending on the status of the fires at the time. The Beaver Lake Stream fire in Northumberland County is 238 hectares, according to the dashboard, and the Chief’s fire is listed at 218 hectares. The Chief’s fire, in northern New Brunswick, is also listed as a fire of note. A fire of note, according to the government, is one “requiring significant resources or threatening homes or critical infrastructure.” The Oldfield Road fire, which straddles the northern edge of Miramichi, is still listed as a fire of note, despite being contained at 1,403 hectares. …Firefighters and co-ordinators who have been working for weeks have been met with gruelling conditions, and the man leading the strategy on the ground says first responders are tired.

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