Two workers missing, 19 injured in blast near Burns Lake
BURNS LAKE — When a candle was lit for Carl Charlie, one of two workers still missing after an explosion Friday destroyed the local sawmill, it was a stark display of the grief consuming this small town.
The Charlie family walked to the front of packed Margaret Patrick Memorial Center while friends and colleagues gathered close.
“We’ll bring them home, we’ll bring them home,” called out their neighbour, sawmill worker Frankie Erickson Sr.
Erickson’s vow gave voice to the community’s collective hope for the safe return of Charlie and Robert Luggi, who has also not been seen since the Babine Forest Products mill exploded and caught fire Friday at 8: 10 p. m. The accident sent 19 other employees to hospital, some with extremely serious injuries.
On Sunday, more than 500 people packed the community hall, just a stone’s throw from the hospital where injured workers were shuttled in blizzard conditions the night of the fire.
They embraced, wept and called on each other to share their feelings and experiences in the aftermath of the devastating explosion.
A second candle was lit for Luggi.
The Lake Babine Nation is keeping the centre open 24 hours a day, serving pancakes and coffee in the morning, snacks throughout the day and dinner Sunday night. The food was donated by neighbours, including the local Mennonite community.
The centre also serves as a central communication depot and access point for counselling.
“All of the support is overwhelming. It’s the best thing for the family,” said Carl’s brother, Jerome Charlie.
“We’re hoping that a miracle will happen and all the prayers will be answered. And by some chance, he might be alive,” said Jerome.
Carl Charlie, 42, who has three teenage children, had worked at the sawmill — the area’s main employer — for about 20 years, according to his brother.
Like many of the workers at the mill, he was from the Lake Babine Nation.
Jerome pushed a hand through his hair and fought to keep his composure, yet his voice cracked as he spoke.
He said listening to the stories from the other sawmill workers has been a great comfort. “Without the support, I don’t know what our family would be doing right now,” he said.
The centre swelled to full capacity for the arrival of Premier Christy Clark at noon. She was welcomed with a prayer and song.
A song was also offered for the missing workers.
Voices of the native singers rose and fell in a haunting lament, filling the hall. People wept openly and turned to each other for comfort.
Clark said the province would support the community, for which she received a standing ovation. However, she did not say what form the support would take.
“Everybody in British Columbia today is praying for those two members of the community that are still missing,” she said.
Throughout the day, workers huddled together, talking through their experiences from the mill explosion. Their emotions ran the gamut from anger to grief.
Some mulled the possibility that the two missing workers would be found.
“I think, let’s go over the [ RCMP] blockade and look for ourselves,” sawmill worker Melvin Joseph told the gathering from an open microphone set up to let people air their feelings.
Lake Babine Nation chief Wilf Adam called for calm, and asked that the RCMP and Worksafebc investigators be allowed to do their jobs.
Many among the crowd were just beginning to deal with the psychological aftershocks of the explosion.
Joseph described the horror of seeing workers exit the mill with their hard hats melted on to their heads.
At the microphone again, Joseph implored workers to talk about their experiences. He listed the names of all the 19 injured and the two missing workers.
“When you see these fellows, they are our brothers and family members. Talk to them, pray with them,” he said.
Sam Tom, a 33- year veteran of the mill, who was working out in the log yard, said the explosion blew off the roof, which came down and collapsed the building.
“There were a lot of heroes that night,” he said, describing the efforts of workers to rescue victims of the explosion.
Putting words to a sentiment that others dared not, United Steelworkers union official Brian O’rourke offered his
When you see these fellows, they are our brothers and family members. Talk to them, pray with them.
MELVIN JOSEPH
BFP SAWMILL WORKER
condolences at the open microphone later in the day.
Executives of Hampton Affiliates — the U. S. firm that coowns the mill with local first nations — arrived at the centre later in the day. The executives wore black jackets with the company logo and circulated in the crowded hall.
The Charlie family gathered around Don Lenhart, director of production from Eugene, Ore., but he could provide few answers.
“I’d like to tell something, but I can’t. It’s kind of frustrating,” Lenhart said in an interview.
He noted that the executives had not been able to get into the sawmill site yet, which has been locked down by the RCMP.
Company CEO Steve Zika was also in town and has met with town officials.
About 20 minutes east of town, the sawmill smouldered on Sunday morning, the smoke drifting west along a small valley just off Highway 16, creating an eerie scene.
The sawmill — where the logs were cut into rough lumber — is a tangle of metal struts, girders and equipment. Deep within the tangled mess, a deep orange flame is still visible, huffing out black smoke.
The sawmill is the only building destroyed.
The planer mill ( where the lumber gets a smooth finish), drying kilns and other outbuildings are intact.
Access to the site is blocked by the RCMP, who continued Sunday to interview mill employees and other witnesses to determine what caused the explosion.
Police say making the site safe will take time because of the magnitude of the fire. The RCMP will work with WorkSafebc, owners Hampton Lumber Mills and a structural engineer.
“This will be a meticulous search as investigators must be methodical and thorough as they sift through the rubble and debris looking for any evidence not only to determine a cause for the fire, but also in the event they find some remains,” police said.
“This is going to be a very slow process, which can be very painful for the families affected here in the Burns Lake community,” Const. Lesley Smith said.
RCMP resources including victim services officers and first nations officers are also providing support to the community.
The RCMP is leading the fire investigation. If police determine that there has been no criminal wrongdoing, the investigation will be handed over to Worksafebc or to the BC Coroners Service in the event human remains are found.
Worksafebc spokeswoman Donna Freeman said seven investigating officers and an engineer have set up in Burns Lake. But she said little can be done at the site because it remains under the RCMP’S jurisdiction and is still considered unsafe to access.
Greg Weeres, spokesman for Pacific Northern Gas, said the company arrived on site immediately and turned off the gas, following the explosion.
The company provides gas service throughout the Highway 16 corridor west of Prince George. He wouldn’t comment on the explosion, noting the investigation is still incomplete and “to our knowledge the cause of the incident is still unknown.”
There were reports that some workers smelled gas before the explosion.
But Frank Varga, a millwright who had only been working at the mill for a month, said he checked the sawmill Friday afternoon, including the basement, as part of a routine endofshift tour. He said he did not smell any gas.
A key issue on the minds of workers and community members gathered at the memorial hall is whether the mill will be rebuilt.
Burns Lake Indian Band chief Albert Gerow invited the premier to help light a third candle to signify hope for the mill’s future.
Burns Lake Mayor Luke Strimbold said the destruction of the Babine Forest Products sawmill is devastating for the small community.
It is vital, he said, that the mill be rebuilt.
“It’s the backbone of the community,” said Strimbold, who works in the family’s logging business started by his grandfather and at 21 is the youngest mayor in B. C.
Strimbold said whatever the future holds, he knows his community will pull together. He pointed to the huge turnout at the hall.
“You saw raw feelings from the devastation, but also the power of people supporting each other,” he said.