The wildfires ravaging British Columbia’s interior might be causing more than just physical damage – companies in the forestry and mining sectors had to either scale down or suspend their local operations, which could exact an economic toll on the region.
About 30 to 40 logging companies have shut down their harvesting operations in the wake of the blaze. One mine in the area had to reduce its operations, and is threatening to suspend business if dangerous conditions persist.
“We saw a really, really bad fire issue in 2003 in the region, but nothing this widespread,” said Greg Munden, president of log hauling and harvesting company Munden Ventures.
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Munden told The Canadian Press that as of Monday morning, most areas had ceased hauling operations, while some companies stopped work at their mills.
In a statement, West Fraser Timber announced that it had closed its three locations in 100 Mile House, Williams Lake and Chasm as of July 09. The company assured that the mills it owns nearest to wildfire activity “have staff and resources that are being deployed to protect our facilities and the community.”
Another company, Norbord, said that it had shut down its wood panel mill – also in 100 Mile House. The company is currently assessing what impact the fires have on its production schedule.
On its Facebook page, Tolko Industries announced that its two locations in Williams Lake – the Lakeview and Soda Creek mills – would not open Monday. Managers of the company would meet daily to determine whether to open moving forward.
In the mining industry, Imperial Metals said that it has considerably reduced its operations at the Mount Polley open pit copper and gold mine in the Williams Lake area. The company reasoned that many of the roads used to access the site have been closed following the wildfire warnings. Imperial also stated that if critical supplies such as fuel are no longer available, it could suspend its mining operations altogether.
Paul C. Quinn, an analyst with RBC Dominion Securities, observed that the fire appears to be within a couple of kilometers of the Norbord mill. He told The Canadian Press that business interruption and commercial insurance would cover potential losses, but costs would range from $140 million to $145 million to replace the damaged mill.
Related stories:
BC wildfires evacuation toll tops 10,000
Provincial state of emergency declared in BC
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