An electrical fire burned down a family-owned sawmill in Lumby

Photo: Google Maps

UPDATE: 1:52 p.m.

The Lumby Fire Department says the fire occurred at about 3:40 a.m. Friday morning, and when they arrived on the scene the building was fully engulfed in flames.

"The roof was already down when we got there, unfortunately, the building was a total loss," says Lumby Fire Chief Tony Clayton. "One of the back walls was still partially standing since it's about two-thirds concrete and built into the hill."

Clayton says the wooden part of the structure was totally lost in the blaze.

ORIGINAL: 1:04 p.m.

A fire has temporarily shut down a small, family-owned lumber company outside of Lumby.

Willems Forest Products suffered a fire in its mill early Friday morning, causing significant damage to the building.

"It was an electrical fire, and it damaged most of the shop," says owner Lorne Willems.

"We are currently in the process of cleaning everything up to get ready to rebuild."

One of the walls is still standing, so Willems will be renovating the rest of the affected area and repairing equipment that was damaged.

"We're going to try and do all the repairs in six weeks," he says. "Hopefully by then we will be back up and running."