With nine evacuation orders or alerts issued recently due to wildfire threats, it’s worth recalling the independent Forest Practices Board’s recent report on reducing the danger in the interface zone between residences and the wilderness. The board released a special investigation in May that found despite years of work on the hazard since the Kelowna…
As climate change is fingered as a culprit behind the early rash of forest fires across Northern and Western Canada, experts say the most prudent approach at this stage is to, whenever possible, let the fires burn. It’s a grim situation. But those studying the issue say the human toll of wildfire needs to be balanced against…
In recent months, the Wood WORKS! E-learning Centre added 15 new courses that were recorded at the Wood Solutions Fairs in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Through the Wood WORKS! eLearning Center, you can take a wide range of courses about designing and building with wood. A prestigious international faculty of renowned Architects, Engineers, Researchers and Educators present Professional Development programs that…
Don’t miss this comprehensive, one-day educational event that will discuss the 2015 National Code change permitting wood-frame mid-rise construction. We will be taking a look at fire protection, acoustic, structural, building envelope for these buildings. Learn best practices from mid-rise experienced practitioners from BC, where mid-rise wood frame buildings have been permitted since 2009. Join us…
When Susan Yurkovich steps in as chief executive officer of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries (COFI) in September, she will be returning to an industry loaded with opportunities but also facing some of the most serious challenges in its history. Yurkovich, who was named the next president of COFI in June, replaces outgoing president…
The bullish hopes for a stronger recovery in B.C.’s lumber sector in 2015 ran smack into a more bearish first-quarter market, with a lot of U.S. shipments frozen out by harsh winter conditions and a slowdown in the China construction market. The results aren’t so clear in statistics on B.C. lumber shipments. But the scramble…
As the name suggests, Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. is in the energy business. But it can also be considered a forestry company, because it has created an extra link in the value-added chain for the B.C. lumber industry. Many British Columbians will remember beehive burners, which pumped tonnes of carbon and ash into the air…
Four years ago, Aurora Wood Pellets Ltd. began the development of a 200,000-metric-ton pellet plant in the Northwest Territories of Canada. With two Forestry Management Agreements in hand, CEO Brad Mapes hopes to purchase the site’s land this month. Mapes attributes the reason the project has spanned over the past few years to how AWP…
Forestry ministers and industry leaders from across Canada will be discussing innovation and sustainability during meetings this week in Kenora and Thunder Bay. Federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford will host provincial and territorial forest ministers, industry leaders, academic and research institutions and Aboriginal community leaders at a National Forest Innovation Summit on Wednesday…
A mass of unusually warm water in the northeast Pacific, christened the “warm blob” by researchers, is being partially blamed for British Columbia’s forest fires, California’s drought and an unusually active hurricane season. As it wreaks havoc, the blob provides a preview of what climate change holds in store for the West Coast, according to…