By Greg Fry

Industry talks timber losses during CRD meeting

Nov 20, 2017 | 3:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — Area directors in the Cariboo Regional District were given a briefing on the estimated timber losses industry is facing in light of this summer’s devastating wildfire season.

Jeff Mycock, chief forester with West Fraser Mills and Tolko Industries manager Tom Hoffman estimated that the fires impacted close to one year of the provincial annual allowable cut (AAC) and up to 6-10 years of the AAC in Cariboo management units.

Hoffman told CFJC Today about 24 per cent of the burned timber in the Cariboo is salvageable though.

“And what the representative from West Fraser and I told the CRD board is we want to salvage as much as we can and we have to do this quickly as the timber loses value very quickly and may only be viable for milling for a few years,” he said, adding it’s viability is dependent on the severity of burn.

“As you can appreciate some trees were burnt very badly, some trees were just scorched. So, depending on the severity of burn, we’re anywhere from two to a maximum of four years before the trees won’t be viable to produce lumber.”

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Moving forward, Hoffman says that salvaging will be dependent on stumpage rates.

“We need to see the stumpage rate reflected in the value of those trees. A burnt tree is in our estimation not worth as much as a green tree and we generate more from a green tree…..so we need the ministry (Ministry of Forests) to arrange stumpage that reflects the value of these trees so that we can get in and harvest them as quickly as we can and stay viable from a commercial perspective doing it.”

On that front he says the ministry “at a local level has been very accomodating.”

Hoffman adds “more of the issue lies at a provincial issue and we continue to work with those folks.”