I think your article is a little inaccurate. The fire wasn't extinguished, I drove by close to 1am and it was still burning. In fact it's probably still burning at this time and there is no mill left. The jobs aren't in limbo they are gone.

I agree Ruez those jobs are now gone. Complete and utter devastation. I watched for a bit from up in SouthRidge Heights where you have a clear view of the entire BCR Site.

At about 1;30ish not sure I saw a fire ball blow up into the sky about 500 feet when the second major fire started. That fire wiped out a couple of long time businesses on Great Road right next to the two card lock fuel stops, but the fuel stops still as of 2:30'ish have not gone up yet. I can't see how they won't at this point. Its a warehouse fire almost two blocks long. I thought its was the casino from that vantage point.

That scared the crap out of me because I though it was just like 9/11 with the second plane. Unbelievable stuff. Then I see another small fire that a guy that works at the mill spots between the NCP fire and the Cartage/Clark fire that turns out to be a massive pile of cancer sticks from CN. All three massive fires at this point had their very own mushroom clouds....

I think things got out of control. I blame the city fire department for not taking the situation seriously enough when the mill workers put the fire out the first time, and were relieved by the city firefighters. They should have continued with the water until there was no doubt it was out. From what I hear the city sat on it for a while and then it flashed back up and moved quicker then anyone had ever seen, probably because of the wind, which was high at the time.

Anyways this is killer for PG. These are some of the highest paying jobs in town (part of the pulp mill union). 80% of their sales are in Canada, so they had reliable employment, and this mill going back to the Northwood days was always one of the economic foundations of our city along with the pulp mills. Winton Global/The Pas another long standing foundation will also be shut down as well in a couple of weeks knocking another peg out of the PG economy.

IMO this has got to be bad for the local economy especially if Canfor decides not to rebuild at this time. Canfor is threatening everyone right now that they will close any mill that won't take a 10% roll back and they will not pay over time anymore or they will just shut the place (saw mills) down... so I'm not sure how they will leverage this disaster to the cummunity, but all we can do now is hope its on the up and up.

Time Will Tell....

I drove by on the highway at 5am. and it looked like that huge warehouse full of pulp was ablaze, and thats on the other side of the street from NCP isn't it?

The fire was most definitely not out in the wee hours of the morning. My husband came home around 2am, we live in Pineview and he was re-routed through Highway 16 as 97 south was closed. At that time the traffic controller told him there was at leas one other building on fire. This whole situation is so sad.

What makes me made is we lost whole plants, blocks of warehouse buildings, and much more and yet all night not a single word of it on all our pre-recorded radio stations (might as well just listen to my pre-recorded Ipod), and so far this morning not a single news network is mentioning it. BCTV nothing, CTV news nothing, CBC nothing. I guess if a quarter billion in infrastructure burns up in PG is not heard anywhere else?

You must have missed the coverage, Eagleone. I got a text message from a friend in the Lower Mainland at 6:30am telling me there was a big fire at a mill in PG.

Eagleone, I have the same complaint as you. PG is not some backwoods hick community and there should have been far better coverage of this fire. Global BC however is starting to cover it and they just had an interview with a city spokesperson. According to him this is the largest fire in the history of PG. Funny, so far it hasn't gotten the coverage that the locomotive fire got last year. Still early though I guess.

I saw the city rep on BCTV just after I hit enter. I thought he had the wrong tone. He kept talking about what a beautiful day it is in PG, almost as if the fires were an afterthought. I just thought he was in the damage control mode of minimizing the situation when it is anything but and trying to create a sense of golly gee everything is fine... when a bit more concern and urgency would have been appropriate.

Also whats this business we haven't asked for help from neighboring towns? I would have thought that would have been done as soon as the original fire started to spread. Also I quite buy it just yet that the other fires were started by wind carried embers. I think there is far more to this story. Things don't fit IMO.

I think last night was a time the whole community should have been on alert and yet there was no effective media coverage much less communication on a potential threat to the whole community as exampled by massive fires more than a kilometer apart... and its not like these fires started slow and then grew big.. they exploded into massive fires in a matter of minutes (1-5 minutes for the #2 & #3 fires BCR site). I along with a few other people witnessed from SouthRidge the start of the 3rd fire the rail ties and we weren't sure it was a fire and then within a minute there could be no doubt it was now a massive fire. How does that happen from embers. Also I took a picture from that location panning the city and no #2 fire... then a huge massive explosion and suddenly a fire that could not be missed on the horizon nearly two blocks long and a hundred feet high. How do ambers do that and start a fire that quick even if the ambers did land on the propane tanks.

I think the city needs answers and real urgency while PG burns....

It was on 94X news before 8 pm....Hubby and I first heard about it as we were in the backyard with our daughter.

The reason the city didn't call for help from neighbouring towns and the regional district is it wasn't in the Emergency Responce manual. The size speed and impact of this emergency makes those ER exercises a joke. Those ER exercises always boil down to crowd control plans, that kind of responce.

Same thing at River Road, our emergency people take over and don't listen to the people that know what is going on and what to do. The result was a totally unsatisfactor result and a bigger disaster.

This fire got so big the only thing that could be done once they lost it, was make sure no one lost their life.

It's been on CBC radio all morning...

The next problem these workers is going to face is the Clean Air lobbists.

Give it a couple weeks and those folks will crawl out from under their beds and start lobbying to keep that mill shut down permanent. Not much effects those folks, they kind of live in their own world of foggy glasses and feely touchy things.

I heard about the fire first this morning on the 06:00 CBC national news (radio) When I got to work this morning, one of my guys said he was watching the fires from nearby, and that windborne pieces of (?) were responsible for the additional fires around the area. He says that there were fire fighters from Quesnel, Vanderhoof there too, so....
metalman.

with all the fires in Prince George and fire crews stretched thin why will the City Fire Department not bring in Fire Halls from Volunteer communities to relieve the payed firefighters. Or does the whole city have to burn before they get their head out of the sand?

Is hwy 97 south still shut down or is it open to traffic now?

just asked from a city worker to keep water usage to a minimum in the BCR area.

most roads are open

Hwy 97 is open with intermittent delays expected

Is hwy 97 south still shut down or is it open to traffic now?

Sorry, posted twice.

The mill is gone. Fire spread to surrounding buildings. HWY 97 is now open according to CBC.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/27/bc-prince-george-canfor-fire.html

I am from Quesnel and followed the news and comments on this fire most of the night. Since I am in PG several times a month I know the area well. Are these fires still burning right now? My thoughts are with everyone who has now lost their jobs from these fires.

I hear the water supply is getting a little tight in the Dansen reservoir now.

Let me tell you something about that.

The city got away from building infrastructure like water mains back in the days of Backhouse. It was way more cool to spend the money of swimming pools, the library, fountains and entertainment. If some business needed water, well let them pay for it up front.

As a result the 16" water connection from the Young Criminal Center to the Dansen was never built as the city waits for someone as rich as the city to come along and build this water main themselves. I've talked to various councillors about the effect of not suppling infrastructure and getting cost recovery later but they have the blinkers on and just look at it as a loss of "fun money". I never thought about the safety aspect of not have this key water infrastructure, but that argument would have been lost on the city councillors in any case. They aren't to big on practical matters like water and development.

So here we are today, no fire water. Now where is the city council going to find the fun money when at least 2,000 people in PG have lost their jobs and livelyhood? You think those workers care about the swimming pool or a new fountain or the fun money now?

Pick your city council carefully people, you get what you vote for. Remember, Airheads blow.

Excuse my sarcastic mood this morning. Why is it so important that the highway is open or not? 300 people and many more just had their livelyhoods wiped out. Make your own coffee, Hortons will still be there.

How terribly unfortunate for all those families affected. I wish you all well and hopefully Canfor shows some heart.

Previously posted by a regular that PG'ers will bounce back from forestry related woes. I wonder if you sing the same tune now.

With any luck, Canfor will rebuild if the operation proved to be profitable. Surely, any new operation would be non-union.

Balding Irishmen donning Don Cherry suits shouldn't play with matches!!

hey RUEZ...if you think the article is inaccurate i suggest you go setup your own news site and take OWL with you!!!!!

The city turned off the water to the Sintich trailer park.....just up the hill from the BCR site during the night to conserve water. Good thing the wind didn't suddenly shift direction.

Armchair critics, all of you. I was not asking if the hwy was open so that I could get some Timmy's coffee. Sheesh. Truth be told, a major fire in the BCR site was only a matter of time. I feel for the firefighters who had to battle those flames last night. It was their worst nightmare and I am glad that no one was hurt.

"When I got to work this morning, one of my guys said he was watching the fires from nearby, and that windborne pieces of (?) were responsible for the additional fires around the area"

Embers .... pieces ....

For those of you who have never seen plywood burn, it does fly off in pieces. In addition, those pieces are typlically still lit up but enough has burned away that they are quite light and will lift with the rising heat. Unlike embers, they will not burn out very quickly. Remember, they are thin sheets of wood with glue in between. Highly volatile.

Global has been carrying the story as their headline story since 11pm last night. It was on first thing this morning with Kevin Brown on air live. The whole story took longer than 5 minutes. And yes, we did find out about how nice the weather was in PG, as if it normally isn't.

Fire protection is not a typical concern in such industrial sites with respect to adjacent operations. I am wondering about sprinkler systems, both for the plywood plant as well as the warehouse as well as the outside storage area (not that common, but can be done in a cold climate with a dry pipe system).

So now we know that given the right conditions, not only is polluted air carried north during such southerly wind conditions, but also fires should they occur.

Isn't nature at work an awesome sight?

Safety ... safety .. safety .... forestry roads, air quality, fires, mill operations ...

Marsulex, CN tanker car fire, PG pulp, PBEC pellet plant, NC Plywood + warehouse + wood storage ......

Time to take a serious look at safety records I would say ... coincidence? more atttention by media than in the past? reduced interest and time spent on safety and maintenance? lower quality training of response teams?.... all within a year.

I wonder if anyone will take a look at this in that light and see if there is a pattern that needs ot be dealt with.

FYI according to The Wolf news report the fourth fire was started in a dumpster behind McInnis Lighting corner of 4th and Quebec...wonder what the damage is there?

Just heard rebuilding is expected as soon as possible. Again, from The Wolf. Also public asked to stay away to give right away to emergency crews.

Owl... fire protection is of UTMOST concern in industrial areas... when BCR built that site they looped the entire project... mains are still in good shape... pressures are good and there two cans to provide reserve... but when each hydrant is delivering 1500 gpm at 50 psi there is not a lot of time to waste.

To my recollection, NCP has a full WSS and an appropriate number of hydrants throughout the yard... as well as a well trained fire response crew.

Owl ... I don't know if you have ever been in an industrial fire, but the third thing you do is get your ass away from the flames.

The plant will certainly be rebuilt... it was a money-maker... even in the shape it was in.

Our thoughts and prayers to all involved... now is the time for courage my friends.

V...

RRrabbitt

yes, I am aware of the standard frie pevention and fire fighting provisions in virtually all building types other than things like atomic reactors and grain silos.

That is why I make the statement that there is little thought put into prevention of fire spread from one building to another other than distance. F|or instance, such buildings can still have t&g compostie roof membranes. Recent roofing systems no longer have gravel on them as ballast. Only prefab metal buildings typically have metal roofs. So do open sheds that might protect stored materials such as lumber.

Wrapping for lumber and plywood is not fire retardant either. Wood stored for air drying has spacers in between and they will burn like wildfire with all the air in between.

I forgot to mention the industrial burning that Rustad was seen to be doing last year as well. Not only is air quality an issue, but also fire spread.

We are also quite prone to urban/wildland interface fires in many areas of the city. That came to the radar screen of the city after the Kelowna fires. It is one of the key reasons the dead pine were taken down, in addtion ot money being made available. However, if we were to have an extended dry spell there are still many areas of perimeter of the city which are not well protected from a fire being initiated and well protected from the point of view of fire suppression preparedness.

I also spoke about maintencance. The pulp mill fire may have been a lack of reasonable maintenance since overheated ball bearings seemed to have been the cause. We have not heard any fruther about that.

Overheated ball bearings? I guess if they don't know the cause they can always blame a welders torch. I watched the fire from a College Heights viewpoint. Lotsa smoke from that fire. I mumbled to myself about how many cars should not idle to compensate for all that smoke. Also a few years ago I had the opportunity to watch for almost two hours the Yellowhead Hotel and attached buildings burn down. What struck me was that two firemen climbed a ladder to the roof of the Bank of Montreal with a fire hose, waited on the roof , I guess for someone to turn the hose on. No one gave them any water so 15 or 20 minutes later they climbed down. I could see smoke coming from under the roof of the bank and imagining it inside. Not even being a fireman, I was not impressed. Contain the fire if ya can't put it out. No building codes when the hotel was being built and added onto? Oh, well. No building codes for plywood plants?

The word on the street is that the Professional Fire Fighters of the City (elite cadre?) took control of the situation at NCP when they arrived, essentially dismissing the; quote 'amateurs' Reportedly, they refused to use the hoses and other gear that the NCP squad had already deployed to "all but" extinguish the blaze. With the city squirters in charge, apparently the Ncp guys were not permitted to continue working, even though the pro's were still busy rolling out hoses etc. In the interval, the fire broke out again and quickly became uncontrollable. I suspect that there is at least a kernel of truth to this rumour. One must hear both sides of the story, as it were.
metalman.

Harbinger ....

"overheated ball bearings?"

They actually knew the cause of past fires. I was talking about the pulp mill fire, not this one.

Here is the story:
http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/8355/1/p.g.+pulp+mill+getting+chips+in+line

The last sentence says:
"There have been smaller incidents in the past, some were sparked by BURNED OUT BEARINGS."

Nothing made up about it. If you don't like it, then believe what you will.

Metalman .... as many people keep telling me ..... there are as many sides to an event or incident as there are participating observers ...

then there are the sides of those who have some experience of similar events, the forensics people, who will piece together the first, second and third hand "observations" into a sequence of events which likely occurred and which may just partially reflect the observations of those who saw the event first hand.

"No building codes when the hotel was being built and added onto? Oh, well. No building codes for plywood plants?"

There were building codes for both.

Building codes are not developed for fire prevention. That is th role of the Fire Chief who should be going through buildings during their occupancy.

Building codes are more geared to slowing down fire spread through materials selection and compartmentalization as well as immediate response through automatic sprinkler systems. In addition, they are designed to inform occupants that there is a fire someplace in the building and to allow people to exit safely in the early phases of a fire.

The initial info is that this fire was caused by the dryer. If that is true it points to such things as malfunctioning equipment,human error due to poor training, poor maintenance, poor application or lack of good SOPs. Some are more likely than others to have been the cause.

Fire was out in 5 hours?!? It will still be burning tomorrow. Lets all hope the log yard doesn't go up, this still has the potential to be a bigger disaster yet.

The headline reads ""Workers in limbo following plywood plant fire". I am not Catholic so I would appreciate anyone telling me where "limbo"" is. And it ain't on the dance floor either.