Tag Archives: Prince George

WorkSafeBC is directing employers’ attention to similarities that have been observed during the course of the investigations at the Babine Forest Products sawmill in Burns Lake and at the Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George, British Columbia.

In both investigations, the ignition sources appear to have been located at the conveyor level, where electrical and/or mechanical equipment was in operation in areas contained by walls and equipment. These areas are at the basement or lower level of both of the mills under investigation.

Under the directive order that was issued to all sawmill employers on April 26, 2012, WorkSafeBC’s officers have been ensuring that sawmill employers are in compliance as outlined in that order.

The order and the compliance of industry to date is posted on WorkSafeBC’s website along with other information related to sawmill inspections and the investigations.

In their initial visits officers are conducting walk-through inspections of all sawmills and all associated site facilities.

In their follow-up inspections, officers will be assessing the hazard identification and risk assessments that employers must have; they will be reviewing the compliance plans that have been developed along with any interim measures to address immediate safety concerns.

Officers will be paying particular, but not exclusive, attention to areas similar to those identified in the Babine Forest Products and Lakeland Mills investigations.

Five elements are required for an explosion: fuel, ignition, dispersion, oxygen, and containment.

Source: WorkSafeBC

WorkSafeBC has released the last 5 years of inspection records of the Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George, British Columbia that exploded on Monday, resulting in the death of two employees.

The inspection records show that as recently as February, inspectors found piles of wood dust throughout the mill.

The records note that the mill operator was told to prevent the accumulation of “hazardous amounts of wood dust”, however, no corrective orders were issued.

Greg Stewart, president of Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd., said he was not aware of the report until Wednesday; since no order was issued, the operations manager would have dealt with the matter. But he did acknowledge that the company had cleaned away debris after the inspection, reviewed its procedures, and increased its clean-up crew to five from three workers, characterizing those actions as “a significant response.”

Inspectors also flagged wood dust as a concern at the mill three years ago, saying it should be monitored because the wood that was being processed was extraordinarily dry, coming from trees that had been infested and killed by pine beetles

View the Inspection Reports

Read more:
Wood dust accumulation at Lakeland Mill flagged in February (Globe and Mail)
B.C. mill inspection records show dust concerns (CBC)

A second man, who had been flown to Edmonton for specialized care, has passed away as a result of the injuries he suffered in the Lakeland Mills explosion and fire in Prince George, British Columbia. He has been identified as Glenn Francis Roche, 46, of Prince George.

The first man who died has been identified as Alan Little of Prince George, 43, who was a shift supervisor.

The Lakeland Mills mill has been owned by Sinclar Group Forest Products since 1973. There was a fire at the mill in February when some sawdust ignited on a halogen light during maintenance. President of Sinclar Group Forest Products, Greg Stewart, said “There is absolutely no reason why we should link these two incidents.”

Some have been wondering if the drier mountain pine beetle killed timber that is being processed by B.C. mills could be what is causing these disastrous explosions and fires. Stewart said the Lakeland Mill has been processing pine-beetle kill since 2003, without previous mishaps.

Sources:
Second worker dies following B.C. sawmill explosion (The Globe and Mail)
Mill supervisor identified as man killed in fire (The Prince George Citizen)

One employee of the Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George, British Columbia has died as a result of the massive explosion and fire that rocked the sawmill last night.

17 others remain hospitalized. 4 have been airlifted – 3 to Vancouver and 1 to Edmonton.

The injuries vary from minor to severe burns.

The explosion was so powerful, windows were blown out in nearby buildings.

“There’s nothing left standing as far as a recognizable physical structure. It was literally just a ball of flame,” said Cameron Stolz, a Prince George city councillor.

News clip from CBC:

Read more:
One worker has died, 17 others injured after explosion destroys Prince George sawmill (with video) – Second B.C. sawmill explosion this year (Vancouver Sun)
1 dead, 24 injured in Prince George sawmill explosion (CBC)

The Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George, British Columbia was destroyed by an explosion and subsequent fire last night.

The first explosion occurred around 9:45pm and shook houses up to 2 kilometres away. Within moments a huge fire engulfed the sawmill. A second explosion followed.

50 people were on-shift at the time of the explosion, and 25 of them were working in the sawmill portion of the mill. 23 of these employees have been injured. 7 people are in critical condition, 5 are in serious condition, 11 have minor injuries. A Code Orange was declared to mobilize resources.

After the explosion, 5 people that were working at the time of the explosion were reported missing, but all have been accounted for now.

The firefighters have been able to spare the planer mill, but the sawmill is completely destroyed.

Prince George Fire Rescuee Chief John Lane says it will be about 24 hours before the still-burning sawmill has been brought under control. At that time, Lanes says, “We are hoping to begin to try and determine what the cause of the blaze was.”

Read more:
Five from fire unaccounted for (Prince George Citizen)
Downtown rocked by mill blast (Prince George Citizen)
Explosions, fire hits Prince George sawmill (CBC)
Huge explosion at Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George (with photos) (The Vancouver Sun)
Worker describes gruesome scene at B.C. sawmill after massive explosion (Globe and Mail)

After a lengthy indefinite shut that followed the collapse of the United States residential housing market in 2008, Canfor Corporation has decided to close its historic Rustad Sawmill in Prince George, British Columbia and Tackama Mill in Fort Nelson, British Columbia.

Canfor has determined that the capital investment needed to bring the Rustad facility up to globally competitive operating standards is prohibitive. The company has instead focused a $300 million, 3-year capital investment plan on other facilities where smaller amounts of capital spending can realize significant improvements in cost performance and capacity.

Canfor acquired the Rustad Sawmill in 1999, and operated the facility for 10 years until slowing US lumber demand forced operations to cease in 2009. To that point, the mill had been in continuous operation for 62 years. The Tackama operation in Fort Nelson was part of Canfor’s 2004 acquisition of Slocan Forest Products, and at the time was BC’s largest plywood facility.

Although the decision has been made to cease manufacturing operations at these locations, Canfor is proud to have been part of the impressive legacy both plants had in their communities. Further information will be available over the next several weeks on plans to repurpose portions of the Rustad site for trades training and education.

“Canfor remains fully committed to the BC Interior, the communities of Prince George and Fort Nelson and to our employees,” said CEO, Don Kayne. “The Province of British Columbia, Government of Canada and BC forest industry are seeing tremendous success in the joint effort to develop new markets for BC wood products throughout the Asia Pacific. We believe that demand for green, environmentally sustainable building materials will continue to grow in our core United States market and around the world, and that a bright and prosperous future is ahead for the BC forest sector and forest communities.”

Rustad and Tackama employees will receive statutory payments and severance as negotiated with the United Steelworkers.

Source: Canfor

Sinclar Group Forest Products has announced it will not resume operations at its Winton Global Lumber plant sites.

“As a long-standing, family-run company that has been operating in Prince George for 50 years, we profoundly regret the decision we have had to make today,” said Sinclar Group President Greg Stewart. “Our biggest hope was that we could find some way to re-start operations and get people back to work. Unfortunately, prevailing market conditions prevent us from doing so.”

The failure of the U.S. economy in 2008 saw housing starts south of the border drop by more than half. Consequently, lumber prices fell dramatically, eliminating the primary market for Winton Global products. These market forces, combined with future fibre uncertainty and the projected capital investment required to regain competitiveness, led to the decision to permanently close Winton Global Lumber operations.

“We apologize for the length of time it has taken to resolve the issue and the associated uncertainty this has caused for our employees and their families,” said Stewart. “We hope that by finally making this difficult choice, it will give them the certainty they need to move forward.”

All former Winton Global Lumber employees will immediately receive the full severance to which they are entitled.

Winton Global Lumber is an independently owned and managed operation of Sinclar Group Forest Products. It produced dimension lumber for the U.S., Canadian and Japanese markets. It is the only company within Sinclar Group Forest Products that made this product.

“As a company, Sinclar Group remains committed to the communities of Prince George, Vanderhoof, and Fort St. James,” said Stewart. “We are confident this decision will better position our company to compete globally, preserve the long-term viability of our operations, and ensure job security for our 600 employees.”

Source: Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd.

Canfor Pulp Products Inc., which owns 49.8% of Canfor Pulp Limited Partnership, has announced that the start-up of one line of its two-line Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, British Columbia has been delayed by two weeks to complete the recovery boiler upgrade project.

This delay will result in a reduction of pulp production in the fourth quarter of approximately 10,000 tonnes.

Management is focusing on managing the associated project delays and mitigating anticipated project cost overruns.

Source: Canfor Pulp

Canfor Corporation has announced that, following a review with its Board of Directors, Canfor will be proceeding with capital improvement projects totaling $46.7 million at its Grande Prairie, Alberta facility and at the Prince George Sawmill in British Columbia.

In Grande Prairie, investments include the purchase of a cogeneration facility from TransAlta and a planer upgrade. A planer upgrade at Prince George Sawmill was also included in the approved capital investment package.

The projects are part of a capital spending plan for 2011 totaling $140 million, and a three year strategic plan that calls for total investment in sawmill improvement projects of $300 million.

“We are continuing to invest significantly in modernizing our Canadian facilities,” said Don Kayne, Canfor President and CEO. “Going forward, our capital investment program will continue to enhance productivity and cost performance.”

Source: Canfor

A $2.5 million investment was announced today for Canfor Pulp’s Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, British Columbia through the federal government’s Transformative Technologies Pilot-Scale Demonstration Program – a program that supports innovation and expands market opportunities.

“This project will build on Canfor Pulp’s leadership in the Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft market through the installation of ‘real-time’ testing systems for our woodchips, pulping process and final pulp products,” said Robert Dufresne, General Manager, Northwood Pulpmill. “This will allow Canfor Pulp to optimize the value chain and ensure that the raw materials and finished pulp products are matched to the customer’s end use. This partnership between government and industry will enhance Canfor Pulp’s competitiveness in the global pulp market.”

Other funding for the project includes a $2.1-million contribution from the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands, bringing the total funding to $4.6 million. In addition, Canfor Pulp will invest an additional $4.4 million in cash and in-kind contributions.

“As Canada’s forest sector innovation hub, we believe that through multipartite projects we will be able to demonstrate the viability of new technologies with a view to creating and marketing new products and developing new markets,” said Jim Dangerfield, FPInnovations’ Executive Vice-President. “This project integrates innovative technologies developed by FPInnovations and positions the organization as a strong partner of the Forest Industry’s transformation.”

Source: Government of Canada