Deep in the forest north of Revelstoke, old-growth logging opponents set up tents, chairs and trailers. The demonstrators have mounted a blockade in response to proposed old-growth logging in the Argonaut Creek valley. As a result, the Bigmouth Forest Service Road is currently impassible for loggers and construction crews. Demonstrators are allowing recreational users through the roadblock. Overall, the blockade is peaceful. …Located approximately 122 kilometers north of Revelstoke, demonstrators brave bug bites, rain, and wind at the remote site. Organized by Old Growth Revylution, the group is prepared to stand their ground until logging stops in the valley, however long that may take. “We stand in solidarity with Fairy Creek. If they can do it, we can do it,” says Sarah Newton, a Revelstoke resident and teacher. …In an Instagram post, Old Growth Revylution stated they will rotate blockades throughout the area until their demands are met. 

TERRACE, B.C.—The forest industry in B.C.’s northwest is working together to use more waste wood from logging operations and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The initiative is being facilitated by nearly $540,000 in funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) and managed by Westland Resources Ltd. The avoidance of pile burning waste wood results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to the achievement of B.C.’s and Canada’s climate change targets. The funding was part of the provincial government’s StrongerBC for Everyone: BC’s Economic Recovery Plan. “We are grateful to FESBC and the provincial government for the funding for our Coast Mountains fibre utilization project,” said Brittany Dewar, FIT, Westland Resources. …If not for the initiative, the fibre would have been left in slash piles to be burned as the purchase price for the pulp-quality fibre was less than the cost of delivering it to the coastal pulp mills. 

After many parts of B.C. experienced record-breaking temperatures, a province-wide fire ban was implemented from June 30 through to Oct. 15. Around 88 per cent of the 337 wildfires that occurred between April 1 and June 24 were caused by people, according to the Ministry of Forests. Despite the fire ban, Timmy Masso said he has been “truly disgusted” to see the number of illegal campfires along the logging roads off Highway 4 leading to Winchie Creek Hydro. …Part of Trent Masso’s job at the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation-owned hydropower facility consists of picking up garbage, burnt firewood and extinguishing abandoned fires left behind by campers, said Masso. Some fires sit only five to 10 feet away from the bush, he added. “So much of B.C. is on fire right now and I really don’t want that to happen to our west coast,” he said. …Any local or tourist lighting fires at this time is “irresponsible,” said Masso. 

Many years ago, an Indigenous Elder opened the eyes of Cochrane-based wildfire specialist Rick Arthur to “the relationship of humanity, fire, and the management of our ecosystems.”  … I’ve asked Rick to share with us some of the Indigenous fire-management wisdom he’s learned over the years. “For thousands of years Indigenous Peoples used fire wisely in landscape management which aided in preventing the megafires we see today,” Rick says. “Our modern forest and park management policies changed the way forests had been managed. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in forest fuel loads which, when coupled with hot, dry weather, results in these extreme fire events…”  Indigenous tradition used low-intensity fires to keep landscapes open, to the benefit of the many species of the forest who got used to low-intensity fires, and to avoid the devastation of the megafires we’re experiencing now.

Parks Canada is sending 23 highly trained wildland fire management specialists including Incident Management personnel and wildland firefighters. … The deployment to BC is being coordinated through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC). Parks Canada exchanges operational wildfire resources with provinces and territories through the Canadian Interagency Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement and border zone agreements, as well as with international partners, coordinated by the CIFFC. These agreements ensure collaboration and distribution of resources where most needed. Parks Canada wildland fire management specialists will be in British Columbia for two weeks. Seven wildland firefighters will be doing initial attacks on new fires, and the Incident Management personnel will take over management of one of the British Columbia fires.