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Mill Fire and economic updates

Quick news updates from the South Cariboo area.

100 MILE MILL FIRE ON MAY 30

On May 30 at approximately 11:52 p.m., 100 Mile House Fire-Rescue responded to a fire at the Norbord OSB Mill. Upon arrival, Norbord staff advised that the fire was in three separate locations in the mill. OSB mill staff had started to fight the fire however the smoke increased and was unsafe to continue. 100 Mile House Fire Rescue Crews were able to extinguish the fire in all three areas with the cooperation of mill staff. 100 Mile House Fire Rescue Firefighters were on scene for approximately three and a half hours and responded with sixteen members. The fire appeared to have started from an earlier evening fire that was thought to have been extinguished by mill staff.

CARIBOO ECONOMIC UPDATE

The Cariboo Development Region’s economy was driven by forestry and mining in 2016. According to the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) Regional Check-Up, production at sawmills increased and mines continued to operate, leading to a vibrant year of activity in the Cariboo’s goods sector. However, this was not enough to offset job losses in the service sector.

“In 2016 the goods sector added 2,000 new jobs, an unexpected turnaround for the sector after job losses over the past three years. This was largely due to 900 new hires in the forestry, fishing, mining, and oil and gas industry, which saw increased activity last year,” said Stan Mitchell, CPA, CA, partner at KPMG LLP in Prince George.