Abbotsford firefighters spent several hours Saturday putting out hot spots after the third fire this year hit a B.C. lumber mill early Saturday.
At around 4 a.m., crews were called to Absolute Lumber Products mill on McCallum Road near Highway 1. When they arrived, they discovered huge flames and plumes of smoke that could be seen many kilometres away.
Fire fighters first had to navigate around power lines to begin extinguishing the fire.
"We set up a defensive attack to begin with. Had a real problem with power lines that were in the area that we didn't want to cross, because lines were coming down. Once we got the power lines looked after by (BC Hydro), crews got in and started knocking it down," Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Adams told CTV News.
But by then, plenty of damage was already done to the mill.
"The building itself is probably a writeoff. The actual equipment that they use for doing the millwork is on the outside. We were able to save that. Where they stored their forklifts and office supplies, that's where the fire was," Adams said.
The mill was shutdown when the blaze occurred and no one was injured.
Ramesh Sharma, the mill owner's brother, says the fire is a huge blow to the business that employs about a dozen people.
"We lost so much money there, so we lost everything. So we not in good situation (sic)," Sharma said.
Fire officials say they don't know what caused the blaze and two fire investigators are trying to figure it out.
Earlier this year, two sawmill explosions killed four people and injured dozens more.
In January, Robert Luggi, 45, and Carl Charlie, 42 died in an explosion that levelled the Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake.
Alan Little, 43, and Glenn Francis Roche, 46, died following an explosion at the Lakeland mill in Prince George in April.
The deadly fire prompted the province to order all sawmills be inspected as investigations continue.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro
