Old-growth logging protests and wildfires in British Columbia

Activists on Vancouver Island are staging protests, including sleeping in roads, to block logging of old-growth forests, which are among the rarest and most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. The demonstrations are aimed at halting what protesters describe as the destruction of British Columbia's last remaining old-growth stands by logging companies. Separately, British Columbia has declared a state of emergency after fast-moving wildfires forced more than 20,000 residents to evacuate communities in the Okanagan region, with homes destroyed as flames advanced on towns. The dual crises have placed the province's natural environment and resource policies under intense scrutiny.