More than a month after a deadly explosion and fire that destroyed its sawmill and left two workers dead, Lakeland Mills announced Friday the company will be opening the adjacent planer mill for a six-week period.
The decision to put planer mill staff back to work, starting on Monday, will allow Lakeland to process the supply of wood that was already on hand prior to the April 23 disaster.
"I'm happy to be able to say this temporary resumption of activities will allow 22 of our employees to get back to work, even if it is for a short period of time," said Greg Stewart, president of Sinclar Group Forest Products, which owns Lakeland.
The available lumber supply will allow one shift per day to work at the planer mill for the next six weeks, for a total of about 30 shifts. The company has yet to announce its longterm plans for the downtown mill.
"As we have said before, the conditions are good to support a positive decision about whether we will be able to rebuild the sawmill," said Stewart. "We continue to believe we have the best group of employees in the industry and the business conditions to make us optimistic about the future."
Two of the 22 Lakeland workers who were injured remain in hospital. Sawmill employees
Alan Little and Glenn Roche died as a result of their injuries shortly after the fire.
A team of WorkSafeBC investigators is still on the site looking into the cause of the explosion.
As of a week ago Thursday, the Lakeland Fire Assistance Fund had grown to $216,000
"We are doing what we can to ensure our employees get all the support they need," said Stewart. "To that end we want to thank the people of Northern BC and from around the world for the generosity they have shown in the outpouring of support for Lakeland employees and their families."
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