Firefighters on scene monitoring Sask. pulp mill fire

(Courtesy: Randy Seright)

A fire at a pulp mill in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan has prompted a full 24 hours of action from fire crews.

The Meadow Lake Fire Department responded to a call for service at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, after a log pile on the site caught fire.

“The fire situation has improved considerably, over the course of the evening, and over the last 24 hours there, it’s still an active situation,” said Chris Stoicheff, a spokesperson for Domtar, which owns the mill.

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Stoicheff told CTV News on Tuesday afternoon that no injuries were reported and the mill itself is undamaged by the blaze, but the same can’t be said for their stockpile of lumber.

“Unfortunately, the damage to the log piles themselves is significant. So that will be very difficult for the business. And it comes at a difficult time for the sector as a whole,” Stoicheff said.

Stoicheff says many of the nearby communities, including Prince Albert, sent resources to help keep the fire under control.

“We’ve had aerial water support provided as well to contain this fire. And so, we’re just extremely grateful to all the fire crews and emergency personnel that have responded so well and worked throughout the night, and have managed to deal with this in a very positive way,” Stoicheff said.

“We appreciate that.”