Critic calls on B.C. to salvage more wildfire

Critic calls on B.C. to salvage more wildfire-burned timber, province says that's 'unrealistic.' Here's why

Forestry critic Ward Stamer argues the current salvage process wastes millions of dollars

As B.C. recovers from another intense wildfire season, could more burned timber be recovered and used for lumber products?

Ward Stamer, forestry critic and B.C. Conservative MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson, says the province is salvaging wildfire-burned timber at "way too low" of a rate.

He is calling for the province’s salvage rate to rise to 25 per cent and for more efficient access to wildfire-damaged timber.

A Ministry of Forests spokesperson said increasing salvage rates to 25 per cent is "unrealistic" when considering access, merchantable volume and crew safety.

Stamer argues that time spent waiting is precious, as burned timber depreciates quickly.

He pointed to the Adams Lake wildfire of 2023 and the volume of trees yet to be harvested.

"We can’t allow ourselves to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in fibre by diddling around," Stamer told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops.

Here's what you need to know about salvaging wildfire-burned timber in B.C.

How quickly does burned timber lose its value?

Depending on the species and condition, fire-affected wood can remain usable for lumber for about two years, according to John Drew, president of Woodco Industries in Barriere, B.C. He added after that point it can still be used for pulp.

Research from Université Laval earlier this year found that as fire-affected wood dries, it can shrink, check and split. Fire damage can also leave trees more susceptible to insect and fungal attacks, research found, further reducing the quality of the wood over time.

Phil Burton, a professor emeritus in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Northern British Columbia, said the severity of the burn is another factor.

Moderately burned areas can contain commercially useful timber, he explained, while severely burned areas can have high levels of charcoal and charring that may make processing more difficult. Areas with low-severity burns can still contain green, living trees.

Can mills actually use more burned timber?

Woodco Industries can use suitable salvaged timber much the same way it uses green timber for its residential, commercial and industrial lumber products, Drew said.

The company sources wood on the open market through B.C. Timber Sales. Drew said if more burned timber was salvaged, he could shift his mill away from processing timber cut from green trees.

Drew added that with the state of the lumber industry in B.C., there is excess logging and sawmill capacity that he believes could be used to process more wildfire-damaged timber.

The B.C. Forest Safety Council says burned wood requires more care during debarking, while black and charred wood may not scan properly, further complicating mill operations.

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Heading into 2026, the province said industry had addressed challenges including handling and debarking burned logs, maintaining equipment, mitigating dust and blending burned fibre into pulp.

The province says pulp mills used about 500,000 cubic metres of wildfire chips in 2023.

By 2024-25, that had grown to more than one million cubic metres, representing about seven per cent of all wood processed by those mills.

Why not salvage every burned tree?

Burton said there is a "legitimate case" for redirecting some existing harvest away from old growth and toward suitable burned forests.

He said salvage can also help support future timber supply where companies harvesting burned stands are then responsible for replanting them.

"We're dependent on natural regeneration which usually happens over time. But in the severely burned areas that could be a huge delay in achieving future timber."

However, Burton pushed back against setting a blanket target for how much wildfire-damaged forest should be salvaged.

Burton said a burned forest still serves ecological functions, including protecting watersheds, providing habitat for wildlife and supporting biodiversity.

How much a watershed has already been logged and how much wildfire a landscape has seen also need to be considered, he said, warning that further harvesting in an already heavily disturbed watershed can increase risks such as floods and landslides.

When does fire-affected wood hit the market?

Drew has about 40 years of experience in the forestry industry and said the process of getting approved to log burned timber does not appear to be significantly different from the one used to log green wood — despite burned timber having a much shorter window before its commercial value deteriorates.

"What happens a lot of times with burnt wood is it just doesn’t get to the market in a timely way," he said.

The province has acknowledged wildfire-damaged timber can be worth less and cost more to recover. In 2024, it changed Interior timber-pricing rules to better account for the lower value and additional costs associated with salvage.

What is the province doing to salvage more wood?

The Ministry of Forests told CBC News all new salvage cutting permits are issued within 25 days after it receives an application, noting that wildfires can often impact when cutting permits are issued.

The average yield of wildfire-salvage across all fire-impacted areas is five per cent, according to the ministry.

It said harvesting can begin once the fires are extinguished and the B.C. Wildfire Service approves access if harvest machinery does not pose a wildfire risk.

The ministry pointed to the 2025 Mine Creek wildfire which has delivered approximately 51,500 cubic metres of wildfire salvage.

Through the Wildfire Salvage Opportunity Agreement, the province said it enables agreements between the province and First Nations. Once its signed, wildfire salvage can be directly awarded to the First Nation for a period of ten years.

It says there are currently 20 active agreements with First Nations throughout B.C.

Arden McLeod, from Vancouver, is an associate producer with CBC News. He has a passion for community storytelling, local news, and reflecting the values of B.C. He graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology's broadcast and online journalism program. You can reach him at Arden.McLeod@cbc.ca.

With files from Daybreak Kamloops