Trinity River Lumber Owner Vows To Rebuild Mill Following Blaze

A Sept. 12 fire destroyed most of Trinity River Lumber's mill in Weaverville, Ca., but owner Frank Schmidbauer plans to rebuild once insurance details are worked out.

According to authorities, a cutting torch being used to repair an edger inside the building started the fire. They also said that an in-house hose system didn't function and the automatic sprinkler system did not work.

The section of the building that was destroyed was the sawmill that datcs back to the mid-1950s. but has been upgraded through the years.

Trinity River Lumber controller Beverly Wilson said the mill's 130 mill emplovees will be out of work at least a week while company officials determine the extent of the damage.

Firefighters used a helicopter to drop water and a pair of nir tankers to drop retardant on the main building to prevent thc blaze fiom reaching nearby log decks and piles of finished lumber.

"They bombed it." Wilson said of the tankers' drops. "It was pretty amazing."

PenPly Moves Into K-Ply Mill

Peninsula Plywood Group has finalized its lease deal with the Port of Port Angeles, Wa., that allows the start-up to revive K-Ply's mothballed

plywood mill.

This summer, PenPly acquired the assets of the mill. which has been down for nearly two years, and struck a preliminary lease arrangcment with the port frrr the mill site.

The initial deal requircd the new owners to begin repairs at the mill within 60 days, but they have been held up because they had to put up a bond fbr a full year's lease In early September, the port agreed to a reduced bond total -$10,000 up front and the remainder in 2010.

Under the lease, PenPly now has full access to the l9-acre site and must employ 60 full-time workers within the next three months. Company and port ofTicials anticipate the mill will eventually employ 172.

PenPIy is headed by fbrmer K-Ply sales manager Josh Renshaw.