Will wildfires have an impact on Canada's lumber industry?

Canada is battling numerous wildfires that are burning down a considerable amount of forests, which experts say will inevitably hurt the country’s lumber industry.

Parts of Quebec and Alberta have been engulfed in wildfires that have caused evacuations and temporary shutdowns of natural resource infrastructure. Though the extent of the damage has not yet been determined, the impact will weigh on Canada’s lumber production, timber analyst John Duncanson of Corton Capital, told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Wednesday.

“These fires are pretty serious. Forest area wise, we’re seeing the fires burn 15 times more than the 10-year average and we’re not even in fire season,” he said.

Duncanson added that lumber producers are powerless over these fires that put their resources at risk.