The B.C. government is not doing enough to prevent catastrophic wildfires and proactive fire management is “absolutely missing” in its strategy, says Quesnel Mayor and ex-NDP forestry critic Bob Simpson. Simpson’s comments come as the Little Bobtail Lake wildfire, southwest of Prince George, continues to rage, growing to 250 sq. km., with only 30 per cent contained. Another fire, near Pelican Lake,…
The Little Bobtail Lake forest fire may have had only a limited impact on that area’s fibre supply. Initial estimates indicate that while the fire is large, only about 25 per cent of the area burned is timber and the remainder either previously harvested or not forest to begin with, Canfor communications director Corinne Stavness…
A federal infrastructure funding announcement on May 15 included $5.6 million to upgrade the Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, a research facility that supports Canada’s forest sector by advancing forest management policy and conducting important research in fields including forest pests, genomics and bioenergy. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Pacific Forestry Centre….
The RCMP has joined an investigation into a wildfire in northern B.C. over the possibility arson was involved. The police want the public’s help in the investigation of the Little Bobtail Lake fire southwest of Prince George that has already burned an area nearly 60 times the size of Stanley Park. Prince George RCMP Cpl….
Tembec is suspending operations at its three sawmills in Quebec due to the high cost of wood supply in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region. The company says the wood costs make its sawmills uncompetitive given the persistent weak market prices for lumber in North America. The move affects 360 direct jobs at Tembec. “Tembec has already expressed…
Residents of Palisades mobile park home in Spallumcheen say on windy days, they feel like prisoners in their homes. The residents live near Tolko mill’s co-generation plant and the business puts its ash pile close to the homes. “I probably wouldn’t be that upset if we moved into the industrial park and that’s the way…
A mysterious spike in the shares of a small Canadian pulp and paper stock is rumoured to foretell an exit of Greece from the euro zone. Fortress Paper’s stock has taken off in recent days despite the lack of any material catalyst, aside from speculation the company is positioned for a deal to print new…
British Columbia’s Forest Practices Board (FPB) is 20 years old. It was created in December 1994 to provide independent oversight of forest and range practices in B.C. and to help ensure compliance with legislation. In 1999, B.C.’s Supreme Court (and later the Supreme Court of Canada) upheld the board’s right to comment on the soundness…
Forest fires as news stories have always been popular. That has never changed. What has changed, however, is how the news media cover them. Not so long ago, the B.C. Forest Service welcomed reporters and photographers out to the front lines, to get up close to the fire and the forest firefighters working hard to…
Much ado has been made of late about the advantages and, increasingly, the potential disadvantages of using wood to create energy. Figuring out what’s what on that front has taken on new urgency, with renewable energy policies in Europe driving an unprecedented boom in the use of manufactured wood pellets to generate electricity. The vast majority of that wood…