Community forest eyes burn piles for industry

The Valemount Community Forest was able to catch up on burning piles of wood debris left over from logging operations thanks to helpful weather over the past weeks without smoking out Valemount, according to manager Craig Pryor. But when it comes to lighting logging leftovers on fire, Pryor is not a fan. “It’s a cost. It’s a liability. It is bad PR. There is not much good about burning,” said Pryor. “We don’t want to burn; we’d rather use it.” Pryor has been working hard on solutions. A pellet plant, for example, could turn that waste into useful fuel and create jobs for the community, he said. But Pryor said pellet plants report being too far away to use waste wood from here.