Hundreds of workers looking for jobs after two mill closures in central B.C.

The pine beetle epidemic is being blamed for the closure of two sawmills in two central B.C. communities.

Both the Canfor mill in Quesnel and West Fraser Timber mill in Houston are shutting down.

About 225 employees will be affected when the Houston sawmill closes, while Canfor says it will work to find other jobs for its 209 workers in Quesnel.

Both closures are being blamed on the mountain pine beetle infestation, which has led to a lack of timber availability.

Houston mayor Bill Holmberg says this is a major blow for his town of just 3,600.

“It is going to be huge,” says Holmberg. “We are talking one of our major sawmills being shut down in 2014. It is directly affecting 225 jobs in the sawmill, and the spin-off from there are logging contractors. Mind you, a lot of the details are not clear yet… but still, it is a huge impact on the community.”

B.C. premier Christy Clark says the province will do anything possible to assist.

“We are going to help those communities as much as we can,” says Clark. “We are going to send in a team from the jobs ministry to work with people to help them find new jobs in the same sector or different sectors.”

Canfor is expecting to close its Quesnel operation in March, while West Fraser expects to permanently shut its Houston mill sometime in the second quarter of next year.