Fire crews from Williams Lake, 150 Mile House fight mill fire

Fire crews from Williams Lake and 150 Mile are currently fighting a fire at Tolko's Lakeview sawmill in Williams Lake. The fire started between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. PT Thursday evening. 

• Large fire destroys mill in McBride, east of Prince George

According to Paul French, the first vice president of United Steelworkers Local 1-2017, the mill's approximately 175 employees were sent home Thursday evening around 8:00 p.m. and did not return to work Friday.

"Everyone is still in a little bit of shock that it happened," French said.

"We were evacuated here in the summer because of the wildfires, so everyone thought they escaped that. Now, to get a fire that actually broke out in your place of work is a little bit of a shock to people."

• Wildfires in British Columbia Interior begin to exact economic toll

At 11:03 p.m. on Nov. 2, Tolko issued this statement:

"We can confirm that there is a fire at Tolko's Lakeview mill in Williams Lake. At this time, the situation remains active and the extent of the damage is unknown. The safety of employees is our top priority, and we can confirm that there have been no injuries and all employees are safe and accounted for. Mill assets are currently being used to assist firefighters in their efforts to contain and control the blaze."

At 11:30 Friday morning, Janice Lockyer, the communications advisor for Tolko, confirmed to CBC firefighters are still at the scene battling the blaze.

Lockyer said there is no indication as to what may have started the fire at this time. 

"We're hopeful that it's not as bad as it looks," French said. ​

With files from Josh Pagé