Wildfires are not only contributing to drought in Canada but are also taking a toll on the nation’s lumber industry.
A lumber expert with Corton Capital says that supplies are going to be reduced long-term especially as wildfires have already consumed more than 10 million forest acres in just four Provinces alone.
According to John Ducanson, “This affects everything, pulp mills, plywood plants, anything that’s consuming wood. You can’t operate a sawmill or a pulp mill unless you have people working at it. And when you have small towns that have been evacuated where most of the employees work a the local mills, they have to shut the mills down. It’s going to have a very significant impact.”
He fears that the fires will result in some of the larger mills closing down, and ultimately impacting exports to the U.S., which is Canada’s largest lumber marketplace.
