Two BC paper mills (Powell River and Crofton) are forced to extend their shutdowns until mid-summer due to COVID-19 and fibre shortages. In related news: Conifex extends Mackenzie curtailment; Domtar extends Dryden mill maintenance; and PotlatchDeltic joins Boise, LP & Weyerhaeuser on the curtailment front. Meanwhile: Maine investigators seek the cause of the Jay mill explosion, while raw video—with raw trucker audio!—describes the event live.

In other news: the Squamish, BC wildfire spares Evans Lake Forest Education camp; US West mega-drought is deemed the worst in modern age; a California study on innovative wood products’ carbon benefits; and Jim Bowyer (Dovetail) on the policy dilemma of low-impact of single-use plastic bags.

Finally, FPAC’s Derek Nighbor to speak to gov’t on COVID-19’s impact later today.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor