Firefighters spent hours Thursday dousing a major Malakwa mill fire in challenging winter conditions, but the struggle to put out the blaze may only be the beginning of the problems created by the flames.
The Elite Forest Products facility was about to reopen for the season, but the fire has now put around thirty jobs in limbo as mill officials try to figure out how to move forward.
At this point the future of the business is unclear.
Although one area of the facility looks like a mess of twisted metal and charred debris, other parts of the mill, including the planer and log sorter, were saved.

Get daily National news
The local regional district area director said it is bad news for those in the area who, before the fire, had been expecting to work at the mill when it reopened this spring.
Martin said the loss of a seasonal job would be a big blow to workers nearing retirement who can’t easily move to find new employment.
The mill’s manager said by the middle of next week he will have a better idea of what the future holds for the now partially gutted facility.
Comments