British Columbia is facing droughts more severe than any in the past 350 years, according to new research that used tree-ring data to reconstruct the coastal climate back to the 17th century. The study suggests recent droughts in the West – which have dried up streams, led to provincewide restrictions on water use, and triggered…
A by-the-numbers look at forest fires in Canada over the last four-plus decades: 373,597: Forest fires in Canada between 1970 and 2015 51,320: Forest fires in B.C. between 1990 and 2015, the most of any province during that time 32,894: Fires in Alberta during the same time, the second-highest total of any province 64,639,645: Hectares…
British Columbia’s Forests Minister says the province can’t send personnel to neighbouring Alberta before dealing with its own fires spurred by unseasonably dry weather. “Alberta understands that,” Steve Thomson said Wednesday. He said officials have discussed the province’s needs with their counterparts dealing with a disastrous fire in Fort McMurray. “We are in the process…
In the early morning hours before daybreak on May 2 in the fire-impacted conifer forest near Seiad Valley in the Klamath River watershed, 27 people including Tribal youth, river advocates and forest activists blocked the road leading to the Klamath National Forest’s Westside salvage logging project. Demonstrators held banners that read ‘Karuk Land: Karuk Plan,’…
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…