BURNS LAKE, B.C. -- Premier Christy Clark will be in Burns Lake this morning, visiting the site of a devastating mill explosion that killed two men last year.
The explosion and fire at Babine Forest Products killed Robert Luggie and Carl Charlie in January 2012 and injured 20 other employees.
In December, the Liberal government announced that the owner, Hampton Affiliates Ltd., would rebuild the mill after the province signed deals to guarantee timber supply.
Construction is now underway and the mill is expected to be up and running again early next year.
The forest industry in B.C. has been hit hard by the mountain pine beetle epidemic and Clark promised the Council of Forest Industries in April that the Liberals would spend $8.4 million to help identify new markets for wood products, and work with the forest industry to find more skilled workers.
In March, the Liberal government withdrew controversial legislation that would have changed the forest licence system to give private companies more control over Crown land.
