North America exports of wood pellets reached record-highs in 2015, with the US Gulf States increasing shipments by 70% from 2Q/15 to 4Q/15, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.Exportation of wood pellets from North America totaled 6.1 million tons in 2015, which was 2% higher than in 2014 and almost four times as…
Following on the heels of last year’s successful Guinness Book World Record tree plant, this year’s Rivers, Ocean and Mountain School (ROAMS) students planted 3,800 Douglas-fir seedlings in Northwest Bay with Island Timberlands. “Island Timberlands goes above and beyond supporting local youth,” said ROAMS teacher Darin Carmichael. This is the third year in a row…
As their city burned, Shams Rehman, his wife and three kids, were among the 80,000 residents fleeing Fort McMurray when they ran out of fuel 200 kilometers into their southbound trek to safety. As traffic choked Highway 63, a stranger lent them a jerry can and they were able to get on their way. It…
The only highway leading south from fire-ravaged Fort McMurray was “organized confusion” Wednesday morning, with cars strung along ditches, police running jerry cans of gasoline and long bottlenecks at the few communities along the road. “There’s a lot of vehicles on the side of the road,” said RCMP Sgt. John Spaans of Boyle, a small…
Wildfires have led to evacuation notices for hundreds in Alberta, as crews continue to battle several blazes and experts say the dry temperatures could make for a long and brutal fire season. A wildfire raging in Fort McMurrayprompted mandatory evacuation orders for several communities in the area. While recent fires in B.C. also led to evacuation notices for a…
Grande Prairie’s Weyerhaeuser pulp mill will soon be under new ownership. Weyerhaeuser recently announced a $2.2 billion deal with International Paper for its cellulose fibers mills, which includes the mill in Grande Prairie. Wayne Roznowsky, public affairs manager for Weyerhaeuser Canada, said the sale came out of a recent strategic review of the company’s cellulose…
Before moving to government 10 years ago, Diane Nicholls, B.C.’s new chief forester, had a full career on the private-sector side of forest management. As she tackles the major decisions ahead, she will undoubtedly draw on that breadth of experience. Nicholls, who was named permanently to the post Feb. 26, is taking over as the province grapples with a shrinking…
Forestry. Since B.C.’s inception, it’s been one of our province’s driving industries. But in the 21st century is it still relevant? For the next part of CKNW’s series, Putting BC To Work, The Drex Live Show highlights the pros and cons of getting into the forestry sector. “We’re looking at recruiting about 2,700 people a…
About 500 residents have been allowed to return home in northern Alberta after a wildfire forced them out on the weekend. Melissa Blake, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, said Monday evening the mandatory evacuation order was lifted for residents in the Prairie Creek neighbourhoods just south of Fort McMurray. However, Blake said…
Large swaths of red — meaning extreme risk — cover Alberta and Saskatchewan on the latest fire danger map from Natural Resources Canada. Many other areas are considered high or very high risk in the two Prairie provinces, where there’s been below average snowfall and above normal temperatures in much of Western Canada. Kerry Anderson, a fire…