Tolko says the Lakeview Planer will return to operation on Monday with 3 shifts after it was closed Friday while crews worked to extinguish a fire that started the previous evening at the sawmill.
“Thanks to the efforts of our on-site Tolko crew and Williams Lake and area firefighters, the fire at our Lakeview sawmill has been declared officially extinguished,” said Janice Lockyer, a communications advisor for the company late Friday afternoon.
“Over the coming days, we will have sparkwatch on 24 hours a day to monitor the situation to ensure there are no further issues or flare-ups.”
Structural engineers will be on site Saturday to begin assessing the fire damage.
“When we have a better understanding of the impact, we can begin to develop a recovery plan to return the sawmill to full operations,” Lockyer says.
(Editor’s Note: The Williams Lake Fire Department reportedly responded to a flare-up at 10:45 pm Friday. Lockyer said Saturday morning however that the details from this report have not changed and that sparkwatch will continue to monitor the situation. She says any further updates will be provided as required. )