The 2018 wildfire season across the West continues to dominate the news, be it business, forestry, climate or health & safety related. Here are the headlines:
- BC declares state of emergency as hundreds of wildfires burn (CBC News)
- Push back on Trump blaming fires on Canadian lumber (CTV News)
- Wildfire smoke in BC causing health concerns (Globe and Mail)
- Hard on water: Smoke not the only long-range effect of wildfires (Can Press)
- Forest fires in northern Ontario provincial park essential to ecosystem (CBC News)
- Climate has a role in wildfires? No. Wait, yes. (New York Times)
- Clear-cutting forests won’t solve California’s wildfire problem (Sacramento Bee)
- Too few ‘fire bombers’ as Western states burn this summer (Washington Post)
- Zinke blames environmentalists not climate change for wildfires (Time Magazine)
- Record-breaking fire tornado killed California firefighter (Helena Independent)
- Science Says: hotter weather turbocharges US West wildfires (Associated Press)
In other news: BC Steelworkers give negotiators a strike mandate; Kruger plans to build a tissue plant in Quebec; and Seattle’s mayor pressures BC to halt logging near the border. Finally, as steel and concrete costs rise, mass timber continues to make progress, despite fears promoted by the concrete industry.
A special thanks to our readers who passed on best wishes during our brief sojourn. Other than Christmas—it was the first publication break we’ve taken in our ten year history!
–Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor