As California enters its fourth year of drought, the American state has lost over 12 million trees to the ongoing dry conditions. Another million trees are expected to die this summer. It’s not as dire yet in British Columbia, where the province is only in the first year of a drought. But already signs of…
Comments are being accepted until Sept. 23, 2015, on a discussion paper released today as part of a comprehensive timber supply review for the Merritt Timber Supply Area. Public feedback on the discussion paper will be considered by the chief forester before setting the new allowable annual cut. The discussion paper provides the results of…
The unexpected closure of the paper production operations at the Howe Sound Mill owned by Paper Excellence could cost more than 130 jobs, says Unifor Local 1119. “The announcement was a shock to us all,” said Unifor Local 1119 President Don Rheaume. “We’re very disappointed and will work hard to help our members who are…
Third-generation trucker Greg Munden of Kamloops, B.C.-based Munden Ventures, thinks his business and the log market at large are poised for growth over the next few years and he plans to be there to help. Munden Ventures can trace its roots back to post-war US. “My grandparents actually started in business just after the war,…
A 50 per cent reduction in the value of the Resolute Forest Products mill in Thunder Bay will cost the city millions of dollars. Earlier this month, the Assessment Review Board handed down a decision that slashes the property value by almost $40 million, for the 2009 to 2012 tax years. Thunder Bay city councillors voted in a closed session…
As Alberta moves into an era of uncertainly thanks to low oil prices and a new government intent on ensuring “social justice,” the once have-not province immediately to its east faces an entirely different future – and according to one industry expert, the government in power has a lot to do with it. That’s the…
J.D. Irving Ltd., and a number of community groups have issued a legal warning in a bid to stop the closure and possible dismantling of the Saint-Léonard airport in northwestern New Brunswick. The cease-and-desist letter, addressed to the City of Edmundston and the Madawaska Airport Authority, says it appears some infrastructure from the airport is being…
There were three new fires the evening of July 21 in the Northeast Region including two in the Sudbury District and one in the Bancroft District. Sudbury 35 was a 0.1 hectare fire, located about 39 kilometers west southwest of Sudbury. It was responded to by the Sudbury Municipal Fire Department and a FireRanger crew…
With the cost of fighting B.C.’s forest fires soaring to more than $140 million already this year, Premier Christy Clark acknowledged the province could end up spending as much as $400 million by the end of the season. On Wednesday morning, Clark visited the area of one of the province’s most concerning fires because of…
In just 24 hours, 115 new wildfires have flared up across B.C. — most of them in the Kamloops area and the southeast part of the province. “Lightning was a huge driver of increased fire activity yesterday and that would be from the lightning activity we saw Sunday night,” said Ryan Turcot of the B.C. Wildfire Service. Nine communities are under…