Poor markets force closure of West Fraser mill

West Fraser mill shutdown affects 100 jobs in Terrace.

"This was a very difficult decision for the company to make, but unfortunately it has become necessary due to current market conditions," said Lou Poulin, general manager of Skeena Sawmills.

"These conditions include low U.S. housing starts and the unprecedented and rapid rise in the value of the Canadian dollar."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071024/business/west_fraser_skeena

The Science of Fire

Thanks to Janelle from KQED in San Francisco who sent me this email and video below.

I'm writing from KQED Public Broadcasting in San Francisco - We recently did a TV story on the science of fire for QUEST - our multimedia series on environment, science and nature.

We thought your readers might find this story to be a good background resource on fire science - it's posted in its entirely online and you can also embed the video in your site.

San Diego wildfires - huge evacuations

It's incredible that with all the resources in California, the wildfires are still large enough to force over a quarter million evacuations. This is what can happen with dry conditions and strong winds.

More than a dozen wildfires have engulfed the region, killing at least one person, injuring dozens more and forcing hundreds of thousands of evacuations. Overwhelmed firefighters said they lacked the resources to save many houses.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071022/ap_on_re_us/california_wildfires

BC mountain caribou recovery plan released

BC plan includes spending 3 million dollars, killing predators, and protecting 2.2 million hectares of land. There are currently about 1,900 mountain caribou in 12 B.C. herds. It will be interesting to watch this plan unfold, because nothing has ever been attempted like this in BC.

Full story:

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/science/071016/g10169A.html

Groups to pay for Robson Bight wreckage check

Coast Guard thinks all the fuel has dissipated, but environmental groups are paying to check underwater wreckage.

On Aug. 20, a barge listed and accidentally dumped several pieces of logging equipment and a tanker truck carrying 10,000 litres of diesel fuel into Robson Bight, a protected killer whale habitat famed for its whale-rubbing beaches.

Several environmental groups will pay for an underwater look at sunken logging equipment in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve off northeastern Vancouver Island.

Greenpeace, the Living Oceans Society, Orca Lab and two whale watching companies said Friday that $40,000 had been raised to fund the investigation, which is due to begin Oct. 30.

Full story

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/10/19/bc-robsonbight.html