"The increasing severity of #wildfires and #drought highlights that reforming #ForestStewardship – taking better care of the forests, including safeguarding #OldGrowthForests – is one of our best hopes to protect communities across B.C.

Harmful #forestry practices like #clearcutting and #unsustainable #IndustrialLogging make extreme heat and wildfires worse. #Clearcuts are #tinderboxes, more prone to creating embers because dead trees and branches dry out in the hot sun and become more #flammable. Tree plantations and improperly tended young forests also increase wildfire risk: Younger trees have thinner bark and low-hanging branches that can act as ladder fuels, and the trees are often planted too close together, making it easy for fire to spread.

Fortunately, intact and properly managed #forests are more resilient to the worsening wildfires and heatwaves. For example, #OldGrowth #rainforests have dense canopies which provide cooling shade that resists fire. They are cooler and wetter than young forests, acting as giant sponges. Old-growth trees in the drier interior have thick bark, high branches and are widely spaced which all reduce #WildfireRisk.