MORE FROM THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR
JULY 28, 2026
So grateful to everyone who read my previous post to learn more about the realities of smoke, forest fires and the boreal forest. There were a number of folks who reached out with comments and questions, and more than a few "But.. But... But!!" Keep in mind that all of this info is available to everyone -- look for credible (emphasis on credible) sources. I learned a few things myself!
BUT… BUT… BUT!! Canada is taking too long to get fires under control. This may come as a surprise, but many fires are not and will not be actively suppressed. Why, you ask, would you not put out a fire? Because fire is needed to rejuvenate the forest. As I mentioned in my previous post (see below), the boreal forest it designed to burn. Even if we could put out every fire that started, doing so would leave a forest that was even more volatile. Also, many of these fires are remote, with no road access making it difficult to get fire fighters in and out. Suppression efforts tend to focus on fires that pose a risk to populations or infrastructure
BUT…BUT… BUT!! Canada is doing a terrible job preventing fires by not clearing deadfall (dead trees) and underbrush, and this is making forests more flammable. True, we don’t rake or brush (clean up deadfall) in our forests. Partly, this is because of geography -- the forests are remote, rugged, inaccessible and vast. But also, deadfall and underbrush provide natural habitat for the critters who live there and the decomposing vegetation feeds the soil. Do you know what does an excellent job cleaning up and renewing the forest? Fires. This is what nature intended. The issue (see my previous post) isn’t the fires themselves, it’s their intensity, frequency and speed of growth brought on by climate change.
BUT… BUT… BUT!! Why isn’t Canada using prescribed burns to prevent the spread of fires? Why aren’t they creating fire breaks?
Great question. Mostly it’s because we’re dealing with highly flammable, designed-to-burn boreal forest (again, see my previous post). In these forests, prescribed burns are extremely risky and can get out of control quickly. Unlike the US, there are also fewer natural fire breaks like roads, cities and farmlands (because…. remote.)
BUT… BUT… BUT!! Canada is spraying glyphosate on their forests to create higher value monocultures that are extremely flammable.
Ooooh. Good one. Let’s dig in. Many Canadian provinces DO use glyphosate as part of forest management. So does the US. Why???
First, if you aren’t familiar with glyphosate, it’s a chemical herbicide (kills plants), commonly sold as Round Up (sound familiar?) After harvesting on Crown land, forestry companies in Canada are REQUIRED to “re-establish a healthy, sustainable forest that meets the economic, social and ecological needs of the present and future.” (Crown Forest Sustainability Act.) In the eastern boreal forest, that means putting back predominantly conifers (black spruce and jack pine) with some hardwoods, not because they have more value but because that is what has historically been there. The reason these forests are highly flammable is not because they are monocultures, but because… (is there an echo in here?) the boreal forest is designed-to-burn.
BUT… BUT… BUT #5 The smoke from fires contains glyphosate and is poisoning us!! I am personally not a proponent of chemical use, so had to dig into this one with an open mind. A few stats put this into perspective. In forestry applications, herbicides are used ONLY to prepare a site for planting trees or to prevent young trees from getting choked out. Want to know what percent of Ontario forests are being sprayed annually? Go on, guess. Lower…. Lower… 0.11% Yes – you read that right. Zero-point-one-one percent!
To ease your mind even more, spraying is strictly regulated and occurs only under very specific conditions, usually early fall (not typically forest fire season). Glyphosate biodegrades in a few days to weeks (stat from the Environmental Protection Agency), is applied on sites that have been harvested or recently planted -- areas that are much less prone to burning.
When I dug more into glyphosate, I found that the US applies 280 million pounds of the stuff to 298 million acres of crop land annually. That’s not forests, parks or home gardening use. That’s the strawberries, canola, potatoes, broccoli, leafy veg, etc that goes into the food supply. And if you check out the WHO list of possible carcinogens, glyphosate is there, but the list of KNOWN carcinogens includes, among many others, alcohol, coal emissions, leather dust, tobacco, ultraviolet radiation (sunshine), wood dust, and soot. See the last two? If it’s smoky, you might want to put a mask on.
Oh Jean, you say!! But the chemicals!! I hear you. I don’t like chemicals either. But I do like toilet paper, and books and the garage my husband is building with lumber and some of the more obscure things made from wood or wood products, like ping pong balls, medicine and toothpaste… Oh, and hockey sticks! (I am Canadian, after all!) Our reality is that we NEED to harvest trees and that means foresters need to find ways to manage the resource. And besides, unlike fossil fuels, trees are a renewable resource. As a bonus, they actually STORE carbon (good for the planet - go plant a tree!).
BUT…BUT…BUT!! Canada is not allocating the resources needed to fight forest fires and have let their First Nations Communities down. Not going to argue with you on this one. Forest fire fighting falls under provincial jurisdiction, and the Ontario Government under Doug Ford did cut back on the budget (like many of you disappointed with your own elected officials, I am also disappointed with some of mine). And I really think Indigenous people need to have THEIR voices heard. I think it would be wise for all levels of government -- across borders, around the world -- to recognize that our climate has changed (not will, HAS!!). We need to be better prepared to manage the results– more frequent and more violent storms, higher temperatures, drought, rising water levels and forest fires that burn hotter, faster and more frequently – and address ways to mitigate making it worse.
What can you do? Keep being curious. Find facts from credible sources. Educate yourself. And vote. Vote. Vote. Vote.
https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/glyphosate
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-04/documents/glyphosate-response-comments-usage-benefits-final.pdf
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/consumer-product-safety/reports-publications/pesticides-pest-management/fact-sheets-other-resources/glyphosate.html
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/understanding-cancer-risk/known-and-probable-human-carcinogens.html
https://www.borealforestfacts.com/?p=593
https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/glyphosate
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/94c25
BUT… BUT… BUT!! Canada is taking too long to get fires under control. This may come as a surprise, but many fires are not and will not be actively suppressed. Why, you ask, would you not put out a fire? Because fire is needed to rejuvenate the forest. As I mentioned in my previous post (see below), the boreal forest it designed to burn. Even if we could put out every fire that started, doing so would leave a forest that was even more volatile. Also, many of these fires are remote, with no road access making it difficult to get fire fighters in and out. Suppression efforts tend to focus on fires that pose a risk to populations or infrastructure
BUT…BUT… BUT!! Canada is doing a terrible job preventing fires by not clearing deadfall (dead trees) and underbrush, and this is making forests more flammable. True, we don’t rake or brush (clean up deadfall) in our forests. Partly, this is because of geography -- the forests are remote, rugged, inaccessible and vast. But also, deadfall and underbrush provide natural habitat for the critters who live there and the decomposing vegetation feeds the soil. Do you know what does an excellent job cleaning up and renewing the forest? Fires. This is what nature intended. The issue (see my previous post) isn’t the fires themselves, it’s their intensity, frequency and speed of growth brought on by climate change.
BUT… BUT… BUT!! Why isn’t Canada using prescribed burns to prevent the spread of fires? Why aren’t they creating fire breaks?
Great question. Mostly it’s because we’re dealing with highly flammable, designed-to-burn boreal forest (again, see my previous post). In these forests, prescribed burns are extremely risky and can get out of control quickly. Unlike the US, there are also fewer natural fire breaks like roads, cities and farmlands (because…. remote.)
BUT… BUT… BUT!! Canada is spraying glyphosate on their forests to create higher value monocultures that are extremely flammable.
Ooooh. Good one. Let’s dig in. Many Canadian provinces DO use glyphosate as part of forest management. So does the US. Why???
First, if you aren’t familiar with glyphosate, it’s a chemical herbicide (kills plants), commonly sold as Round Up (sound familiar?) After harvesting on Crown land, forestry companies in Canada are REQUIRED to “re-establish a healthy, sustainable forest that meets the economic, social and ecological needs of the present and future.” (Crown Forest Sustainability Act.) In the eastern boreal forest, that means putting back predominantly conifers (black spruce and jack pine) with some hardwoods, not because they have more value but because that is what has historically been there. The reason these forests are highly flammable is not because they are monocultures, but because… (is there an echo in here?) the boreal forest is designed-to-burn.
BUT… BUT… BUT #5 The smoke from fires contains glyphosate and is poisoning us!! I am personally not a proponent of chemical use, so had to dig into this one with an open mind. A few stats put this into perspective. In forestry applications, herbicides are used ONLY to prepare a site for planting trees or to prevent young trees from getting choked out. Want to know what percent of Ontario forests are being sprayed annually? Go on, guess. Lower…. Lower… 0.11% Yes – you read that right. Zero-point-one-one percent!
To ease your mind even more, spraying is strictly regulated and occurs only under very specific conditions, usually early fall (not typically forest fire season). Glyphosate biodegrades in a few days to weeks (stat from the Environmental Protection Agency), is applied on sites that have been harvested or recently planted -- areas that are much less prone to burning.
When I dug more into glyphosate, I found that the US applies 280 million pounds of the stuff to 298 million acres of crop land annually. That’s not forests, parks or home gardening use. That’s the strawberries, canola, potatoes, broccoli, leafy veg, etc that goes into the food supply. And if you check out the WHO list of possible carcinogens, glyphosate is there, but the list of KNOWN carcinogens includes, among many others, alcohol, coal emissions, leather dust, tobacco, ultraviolet radiation (sunshine), wood dust, and soot. See the last two? If it’s smoky, you might want to put a mask on.
Oh Jean, you say!! But the chemicals!! I hear you. I don’t like chemicals either. But I do like toilet paper, and books and the garage my husband is building with lumber and some of the more obscure things made from wood or wood products, like ping pong balls, medicine and toothpaste… Oh, and hockey sticks! (I am Canadian, after all!) Our reality is that we NEED to harvest trees and that means foresters need to find ways to manage the resource. And besides, unlike fossil fuels, trees are a renewable resource. As a bonus, they actually STORE carbon (good for the planet - go plant a tree!).
BUT…BUT…BUT!! Canada is not allocating the resources needed to fight forest fires and have let their First Nations Communities down. Not going to argue with you on this one. Forest fire fighting falls under provincial jurisdiction, and the Ontario Government under Doug Ford did cut back on the budget (like many of you disappointed with your own elected officials, I am also disappointed with some of mine). And I really think Indigenous people need to have THEIR voices heard. I think it would be wise for all levels of government -- across borders, around the world -- to recognize that our climate has changed (not will, HAS!!). We need to be better prepared to manage the results– more frequent and more violent storms, higher temperatures, drought, rising water levels and forest fires that burn hotter, faster and more frequently – and address ways to mitigate making it worse.
What can you do? Keep being curious. Find facts from credible sources. Educate yourself. And vote. Vote. Vote. Vote.
https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/glyphosate
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-04/documents/glyphosate-response-comments-usage-benefits-final.pdf
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/consumer-product-safety/reports-publications/pesticides-pest-management/fact-sheets-other-resources/glyphosate.html
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/understanding-cancer-risk/known-and-probable-human-carcinogens.html
https://www.borealforestfacts.com/?p=593
https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/glyphosate
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/94c25
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MY BOREAL HOMEJuly 17, 2026
Reposted from FaceBook |
I love where I live here in Northwestern Ontario. This place has formed me as a person and breathed life into my art. I am heartbroken to see the devastation caused by wildfires this year -- fires that have consumed whole communities like Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, chased people from their homes, raced through friends’ properties destroying them, darkened our skies, stung our eyes, made us cough and choke and then went on to swallow a good portion of one of my favourite places on the whole planet -- Quetico Provincial Park.
I have cried for all these things. This is my home. Our “go” bag is packed. We’ve fostered a dog evacuated from Armstrong. I've wiped ash from my car, my clothes, my countertop and wondered if it's from a tree that used to shade our campsite on Rawn Lake. But I also see resilience all around and it is so uplifting to be part of communities coming together to support each other.
We’re dealing with the dragon itself while so many of you in other parts of the country and world are being stirred to life by the smoke drifting from the flames. So, while we’ve got your attention, let’s do a little check-in here with some important facts before the skies clear and we lose your attention. Because, you, my dear wonderful friends, (especially those of you in the US who think we’re all sitting up here in Canada twiddling our thumbs and letting smoke just drift on down to ruin your summers) have a role to play in the very smoke affecting lives.
Let me explain.
Canada has 369 million hectares of forested land, 9% of the world’s forests. (Natural Resources Canada) A whopping 75% of that is boreal forest. (1.2 billion acres for our Amercan Friends - source Pew). Which is significant. Hang on I’ll get to it.
According to the US Forest Service, of their 304 million hectares of forest, only about 10-15% of that is boreal, and most of that is in Alaska.
Here’s the kicker. The boreal forest ecosystem is DESIGNED TO BURN. It’s a vital ecological process that supports forest health and diversity (Natural Resources Canada). See where I’m going with this? It also tends to be in parts of the country that are rugged, swampy and remote.
Let’s dig deeper.
So far this year, over 40,000 fires in the US consumed 1.5 million hectares. (National Interagency Fire Centre – July 17, 2026) with active fire containment/suppression happening on 68 large fires. In Canada, 3798 fires so far this season (which started later because… well, we’re norther and colder) with 2.7 million hectares burned.
Aha, you say. See? Canada is slacking. But stick with me here.
Canada has a population density of 3.5 persons per km² -- one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. (Not sure what it is up here in NW Ontario, but it's A LOT less than that.) Conversely, the US has a population density of 37.4 people per km². Following along? Canada = big country, lots of remote forests that are hard to access and burn as part of their life cycle.
Hmmm.
But there’s more.
Accelerating climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels, makes wildfires bigger, hotter, and more destructive (Climate Atlas of Canada n.d.). With Canada warming twice as fast as the global average (Government of Canada 2019), and home to more than a quarter of the world’s boreal forests, the country is experiencing this consequence of global heating firsthand.
My firsthand experience the past couple of weeks?
No rain. No rain. No rain.
Followed by...
Thunderstorms that rolled endlessly, tumbling and flashing with little precipitation. These are called dry thunderstorms – and when they happened in an area that was already parched, guess what that lead to? (PS – conspiracy theorists?? – that line of fires was not started on purpose – it follows the line of the storm. Look at the map again).
Not only that, extremely high temperatures creeping up to 40 degrees C, 48 with humidex (!!!) in an area where most of us don’t have AC because we don’t typically need it.
You might call it a perfect forest fire storm.
To all those folks waggling fingers, especially four particular Republican American Representatives of Congress, how have your policies worked to mitigate this situation? Huh? When you shame Canada for not doing enough, do you remember how we responded when California was on fire? Do you think of the Canadian pilot who died fighting fires in Colorado less than a week ago?
This smoke drifting across borders is not a northwestern Ontario problem. It’s not an Ontario problem. It’s not even a Canada problem. This is a GLOBAL PROBLEM. We must do better.
Because, you guys, this place is really really beautiful and I want to keep sharing it with all of you through my stories of paddling and foraging and skaing on wild ice. But I can’t if it all burns down.
Sending love to everyone displaced by these fires and fearful for their lives and property. Hang in there.
Jean E. Pendziwol
July 17, 2026
I have cried for all these things. This is my home. Our “go” bag is packed. We’ve fostered a dog evacuated from Armstrong. I've wiped ash from my car, my clothes, my countertop and wondered if it's from a tree that used to shade our campsite on Rawn Lake. But I also see resilience all around and it is so uplifting to be part of communities coming together to support each other.
We’re dealing with the dragon itself while so many of you in other parts of the country and world are being stirred to life by the smoke drifting from the flames. So, while we’ve got your attention, let’s do a little check-in here with some important facts before the skies clear and we lose your attention. Because, you, my dear wonderful friends, (especially those of you in the US who think we’re all sitting up here in Canada twiddling our thumbs and letting smoke just drift on down to ruin your summers) have a role to play in the very smoke affecting lives.
Let me explain.
Canada has 369 million hectares of forested land, 9% of the world’s forests. (Natural Resources Canada) A whopping 75% of that is boreal forest. (1.2 billion acres for our Amercan Friends - source Pew). Which is significant. Hang on I’ll get to it.
According to the US Forest Service, of their 304 million hectares of forest, only about 10-15% of that is boreal, and most of that is in Alaska.
Here’s the kicker. The boreal forest ecosystem is DESIGNED TO BURN. It’s a vital ecological process that supports forest health and diversity (Natural Resources Canada). See where I’m going with this? It also tends to be in parts of the country that are rugged, swampy and remote.
Let’s dig deeper.
So far this year, over 40,000 fires in the US consumed 1.5 million hectares. (National Interagency Fire Centre – July 17, 2026) with active fire containment/suppression happening on 68 large fires. In Canada, 3798 fires so far this season (which started later because… well, we’re norther and colder) with 2.7 million hectares burned.
Aha, you say. See? Canada is slacking. But stick with me here.
Canada has a population density of 3.5 persons per km² -- one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. (Not sure what it is up here in NW Ontario, but it's A LOT less than that.) Conversely, the US has a population density of 37.4 people per km². Following along? Canada = big country, lots of remote forests that are hard to access and burn as part of their life cycle.
Hmmm.
But there’s more.
Accelerating climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels, makes wildfires bigger, hotter, and more destructive (Climate Atlas of Canada n.d.). With Canada warming twice as fast as the global average (Government of Canada 2019), and home to more than a quarter of the world’s boreal forests, the country is experiencing this consequence of global heating firsthand.
My firsthand experience the past couple of weeks?
No rain. No rain. No rain.
Followed by...
Thunderstorms that rolled endlessly, tumbling and flashing with little precipitation. These are called dry thunderstorms – and when they happened in an area that was already parched, guess what that lead to? (PS – conspiracy theorists?? – that line of fires was not started on purpose – it follows the line of the storm. Look at the map again).
Not only that, extremely high temperatures creeping up to 40 degrees C, 48 with humidex (!!!) in an area where most of us don’t have AC because we don’t typically need it.
You might call it a perfect forest fire storm.
To all those folks waggling fingers, especially four particular Republican American Representatives of Congress, how have your policies worked to mitigate this situation? Huh? When you shame Canada for not doing enough, do you remember how we responded when California was on fire? Do you think of the Canadian pilot who died fighting fires in Colorado less than a week ago?
This smoke drifting across borders is not a northwestern Ontario problem. It’s not an Ontario problem. It’s not even a Canada problem. This is a GLOBAL PROBLEM. We must do better.
Because, you guys, this place is really really beautiful and I want to keep sharing it with all of you through my stories of paddling and foraging and skaing on wild ice. But I can’t if it all burns down.
Sending love to everyone displaced by these fires and fearful for their lives and property. Hang in there.
Jean E. Pendziwol
July 17, 2026