Photo by Lynnette Hoffman - The aftermath of the mill fire reveals the devastation to the business.
On Wednesday morning at 3:11 a.m firefighters from Lewis County Fire Districts 15- Winlock, 2-Toledo, 20- Vader, 5- Napavine responded to the report of a commercial structure fire threatening an additional structure in the 400 block of Hale Rd. East at Winlock Fiber Lumber Mill. First arriving units found heavy fire conditions from a very large mill structure threatening an additional structure and upgraded the incident to a third alarm and fourth alarm. Additional units from LCFD 1- Onalaska, LCFD- 13 Boistfort, RFA- Centralia, LCFD 8- Salkum, LCFD 3- Mossyrock, LCFD 6- Chehalis, Cowlitz 6- Castle Rock, Cowlitz 2- Kelso and Department of Ecology responded.
Patrick Jacobson, Fireman for Winlock stated, "Crews initiated a defensive attack and also protected the nearby structure. The fire was contained to the mill structure which was deemed a total loss. The loss of the mill is estimated to be several million dollars and devastating to our community and the 56 employees." It was a difficult picture when you drove out to the mill, there were many employees who had just shown up for work to find their place of employment was up in flames. The crew was made up of mostly younger men, it was a picture of shock on every employee's face and you couldn't help but feel a loss for each and every one of them. This was a day when you left the scene, you could not leave with dry eyes. The good news is, the plant is rebuilding.
The fire was determined to be under control at 6:25 a.m. Units remained on scene extinguishing hot spots until 2:00 p.m. The cause and origin are being investigated by the Lewis County Fire Marshal. Approximately 50 Firefighters responded with no injuries reported.