Latest news with #ForestPracticesBoard
CTV News
6 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. forestry watchdog urges province work with logging companies on wildfire mitigation
The little-known agency tasked with overseeing B.C.'s forestry industry is urging the provincial government to update regulations and consider compensating logging companies to help minimize wildfire risk near communities. (CTV News) The little-known agency tasked with overseeing B.C.'s forestry industry is urging the provincial government to update regulations and consider compensating logging companies to help minimize wildfire risk near communities. In a special investigation titled, 'Help or Hinder? Aligning Forestry Practices with Wildfire Risk Reduction,' the Forest Practices Board found that 'outdated standards, poor implementation, and regulatory gaps' are impacting companies' ability to help reduce wildfire risk near 'interface' zones near homes. 'It affects everybody in B.C., this kind of risk that we have,' explained board chair Keith Atkinson, in a one-on-one interview with CTV News. Of particular focus is a catch-22 identified in the two-year analysis: Many logging companies are doing a good job of gathering branches and other wood waste in piles for burning, which eliminates wildfire fuel near communities. However, they're only allowed to burn that debris – the most cost-effective way of eliminating it – when conditions are right to avoid sending smoke toward the nearby communities. Some of those piles, the report's authors found, can sit for multiple wildfire seasons and add to the risk, rather than reduce it. 'We need the public to support this kind of good burning and getting rid of that material,' said Atkinson. 'We know that industry operating in the (interface) zone is one of the best ways to reduce the hazard around the community.' A troubled industry The association representing the industry is still analyzing the findings, which were made public Thursday morning, but there is support for the idea in principle. 'It's a public safety matter, so industry is keen to be part of the solution,' said Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries. 'But at the same time, we can't do it in a way that endangers companies' financial health.' Logging companies and wood product producers are facing considerable headwinds at the moment, in large part due to incoming softwood lumber duties in the U.S., as well as American scrutiny of Canadian wood and pulp products. Shifting regulatory considerations are adding to their problems, says Haakstad, and the added expense of managing wildfire fuels for the province means the companies would likely need to be compensated to take new steps. 'We think that we can do things in a way that is taking care of the environment, that is balancing social objectives, that includes First Nation reconciliation, and has forest fire management, and is economic, and that allows the forest industry to continue to provide high paying jobs,' she added. The ministry responds The minister of forests was unavailable for an interview, but his staff responded that they would take some time to 'carefully review' the report and its suggested course of action. The five recommendations are to set proactive fire management goals, clarify legal definitions and improve transparency, increase public accessibility of wildfire risk reduction plans, reduce abatement timelines, and update guidelines. 'Reducing the risk of wildfires is a priority for the ministry, we take this work seriously,' reads an email statement from the Forests Ministry. 'Based on a preliminary review of the recommendations, we believe a number of initiatives underway across the ministry address the recommendations.'
Globe and Mail
11 hours ago
- Climate
- Globe and Mail
B.C. downgrades status of two major wildfires in northeast
Two of the three most significant wildfires in British Columbia have been downgraded and are no longer considered fires of note. They include the 263-square-kilometre Kiskatinaw River wildfire in northeastern B.C., which was deemed on Wednesday to be no longer out of control. The Pocket Knife Creek wildfire northwest of Fort. St. John, the biggest blaze in B.C. at more than 1,500 square kilometres, has also lost wildfire-of-note status, having earlier been removed from the out-of-control stage. Both fires are now considered to be held, meaning they aren't expected to grow beyond current perimeters, as fire crews get support from heavy rain in northeastern B.C. Outdated forestry rules increase wildfire risk, B.C. Forest Practices Board says That leaves the 800-square-kilometre Summit Creek wildfire burning out of control in the northeast as the province's only fire of note – indicating that either homes are threatened or it's highly visible. The BC Wildfire Service says there is a risk of thunderstorms across central and northern B.C. on Thursday, but the province will see cooler temperatures starting Friday and into the weekend with some areas expected to get heavy rain. There are currently about 85 wildfires actively burning in B.C.
Global News
11 hours ago
- General
- Global News
B.C. logging industry needs to do more to cut wildfire risk, report finds
British Columbia's forestry industry isn't doing enough to help prevent cut the risk of wildfires, a new report has found. The report, released Thursday, caps a two-year investigation by B.C.'s Forest Practices Board, and concluded that much of the problem is based on outdated rules and unclear responsibilities. The probe looked at forestry activities between 2019 and 2022 in the Sea to Sky, Chicotin and Peace regions, specifically in interface areas deemed 'high' or 'extreme' wildfire threats. The wildland-urban interface is a roughly two-kilometre area where human development, such as homes and infrastructure, meets or intermingles with wildland vegetation. 'It's been a well-known area of concern in the province for making communities safe from wildfire,' Keith Atkinson, chair of the Forest Practices Board, told Global News. Story continues below advertisement 'Is our work helping or hurting risk reduction in the wildland-urban interface?' 2:01 New UBC research shows threat to rivers, oceans from wildfires Among the report's key findings was that important fire hazard assessments at forestry sites were often late or incomplete. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Fewer than a quarter of such assessments were completed on time, while 30 per cent didn't meet legal content standards, according to the report. The report also raised concerns about fire abatement work at logging sites, a process that includes chipping, piling and burning debris to reduce fire risks. It found that while a majority of operators are meeting their obligations, about one-third of the cutblocks the board reviewed failed to meet their legal requirements or else needed more work to comply on time. It also raised concerns about the current Wildfire Regulation, which allows companies to leave logging debris on sites for up to 30 months, meaning flammable debris can be on the ground through multiple fire seasons. Story continues below advertisement 'In today's environment, we know the risks are high, we know the climate, the drought conditions really bring attention to that risk as being too high, and we think that should change,' Atkinson said. 'Policies should change to require them to abate that problem as soon as possible.' Municipalities, meanwhile, are not currently included in the province's legal definition of interface zones. 'This omission undermines risk reduction and can contribute to fuel hazards sitting unabated near communities for multiple fire seasons,' the report concludes. 'Fuel hazards closer to the interface must be assessed and abated sooner.' 4:06 B.C.'s 2025 wildfire season forecast It also notes that maps of legally defined interface areas, which lay out how and when forestry companies must do fire hazard assessment and abatement, aren't available to the public, making it hard to verify and enforce compliance. Story continues below advertisement Forest Practices Board is making five recommendations it says would encourage the forestry industry to more actively reduce wildfire risk, modernize guidelines and improve coordination. Those include setting new proactive fire management objectives for the interface zone, rather than simply preventing new hazards, and speeding up fire hazard abatement timelines to 'as soon as practicable' rather than the current 30 months. 'Right now, a licensee can operate but just don't increase the risk of hazard,' Atkinson said. 'We're really saying you need to reduce that risk… If you are going to go in there and do work, part of the result should be a reduction in risk, not just the status quo.' The board is also calling on the province to update the legal definition of the wildland-urban interface to include municipalities and other high-risk populated areas, and make those maps public. The province should also create a publicly accessible hub of wildfire risk reduction plans, and revise and update its 2012 fuel hazard abatement guidelines, the board says.
CTV News
12 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
B.C. Forest Practices Board says forestry changes could reduce wildfire risk
A helicopter works on the Dryden Creek wildfire north of Squamish, B.C., on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin British Columbia's Forest Practices Board says a two-year investigation has found 'outdated rules and unclear responsibility' are stopping forestry from becoming a wildfire prevention tool. The board — an independent body that audits B.C. forest practices — says it examined forestry operations between 2019 and 2022 in areas where communities and forests meet, including the Sea to Sky, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Peace districts. It says fire hazard assessments are a 'cornerstone of wildfire risk reduction,' and while the industry assessments met 70 per cent of the requirements, fewer than one-quarter were completed on time. The board says municipalities are excluded from the definition of legal interface, a term used for fires burning close to homes, which means logging debris can remain for up to 30 months, even in high-risk areas. The report makes five recommendations to the province that it says would help support 'faster fuel cleanup, better co-ordination and more consistent protection for people and communities throughout B.C.' The suggestions include encouraging forest operators to actively reduce fire risk, improve co-ordination between government and industry, update legal definitions to add municipalities in the interface, modernize hazard assessment guidelines and incentivize faster logging cleanup. Board chair Keith Atkinson says more than a million B.C. residents live in areas with high or extreme wildfire risk. 'Foresters are already active in these spaces. With better rules and incentives, their efforts can become part of the wildfire solution,' he says in the release. 'This is an opportunity to improve our policies and processes toward proactive, risk-reducing forestry. It starts with better policy and ends with safer, more fire-resilient communities.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
B.C. Forest Practices Board says forestry changes could reduce wildfire risk
VICTORIA — British Columbia's Forest Practices Board says a two-year investigation has found "outdated rules and unclear responsibility" are stopping forestry from becoming a wildfire prevention tool. The board — an independent body that audits B.C. forest practices — says it examined forestry operations between 2019 and 2022 in areas where communities and forests meet, including the Sea to Sky, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Peace districts. It says fire hazard assessments are a "cornerstone of wildfire risk reduction," and while the industry assessments met 70 per cent of the requirements, fewer than one-quarter were completed on time. The board says municipalities are excluded from the definition of legal interface, a term used for fires burning close to homes, which means logging debris can remain for up to 30 months, even in high-risk areas. The report makes five recommendations to the province that it says would help support "faster fuel cleanup, better co-ordination and more consistent protection for people and communities throughout B.C." The suggestions include encouraging forest operators to actively reduce fire risk, improve co-ordination between government and industry, update legal definitions to add municipalities in the interface, modernize hazard assessment guidelines and incentivize faster logging cleanup. Board chair Keith Atkinson says more than a million B.C. residents live in areas with high or extreme wildfire risk. "Foresters are already active in these spaces. With better rules and incentives, their efforts can become part of the wildfire solution," he says in the release. "This is an opportunity to improve our policies and processes toward proactive, risk-reducing forestry. It starts with better policy and ends with safer, more fire-resilient communities." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. The Canadian Press
