Wednesday, October 15, 2014
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Volume 94 - No. 42
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www.ldnews.net
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$1.30 GST inc.
BURNS LAKE
LAKES DISTRICT NEWS
Fire and explosion at Pinnacle Pellet
Gullwing Road Provincial officials are saying there’s no overriding concern about the state of the moose population following recent moves by the Caribou Clan to dig up a forest service road north of Burns Lake.
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Don’t text while driving Talking on your handheld phone or fiddling with a music player while driving will cost you three penalty points in addition to a $167 fine, effective Oct. 20.
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LAURA BLACKWELL PHOTO
A small explosion and fire occurred Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 at the Pinnacle Pellet east of Burns Lake. Burns Lake Fire & Rescue were called to the scene as three workers were injured. The cause of the explosion and fire is unknown, WorksafeBC arrive by noon Thursday to start their investigation. LAURA BLACKWELL At approximately 8:00 am. Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014, a fire related incident occurred at the Pinnacle Pellet plant in the Burns Lake facility resulting in minor injuries to two employees and more serious, but not critical injuries to a third employee. WorkSafeBC has been notified and the affected area of the plant has been secured to allow for a full investigation. At the time of the incident, the plant was in a maintenance shutdown. The fire was quickly contained and there are no reports of equipment damage. Three workers were transported to Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre. Two patients with minor injuries are being transferred to the University Hospital of Northern B.C. in Prince George
and one patient is being transferred to Vancouver. Scott McCloy from WorksafeBC said, "WorkSafeBC Prevention officers arrived on scene at about noon. They will be working to determine what happened and why it happened. WorkSafeBC officers are coordinating with the RCMP and other regulatory bodies, including the BC Safety Authority, in this regard. At this point, it is difficult to determine how long it will take to determine the cause, but our hope is to determine the cause quickly. It is my understanding that the three workers were in the dryer area at the time of the incident. We have not at this point determined whether there was an explosion or a fire." Luke Strimbold, Mayor of the Village of Burns Lake, said, “On behalf of our entire community, I would like to extend our thoughts, prayers, and support for a healthy recovery to the workers of
Pinnacle Pellet.” “After everything Burns Lake has endured over the last few years, this news was especially troubling. I know people across B.C. are praying for those injured. Burns Lake is a resilient community that has proven its character time and again in difficult situations," said Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad. WorkSafeBC last inspected this mill on June 17, 2014. At the time of that inspection it was determined that combustible dust issues were being managed. The mill has not been inspected since that time. However, WorkSafeBC launched another combustible dust effort related to the pellet industry on Oct. 1 and the Burns Lake facility is on the schedule to be inspected. More on this story at a later date as the investigation continues.
Youth at risk The Lakeside Multiplex has a new afterschool program for youth at risk. A donation to the program will go toward providing healthy and nutritional snacks for those participating in the program.
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Fish ~ Rocks ~ Wildlife ~ Forests ~ Human Relations
Develop essential skills and receive certifications needed to work as an Environmental Field Assistant in British Columbia.
Environmental Field Assistant Bridging Program.
October 27 to March 27
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Phone: 250.692.1700 • Fax: 250.692.1750 • Toll Free: 1.866.692.1943 545 Highway 16 West • PO Box 5000, Burns Lake, BC • V0J 1E0 Email: lksdist@cnc.bc.ca • Website: www.cnc.bc.ca/lakesdistrict