Fort McMurray sawmill struggles with wildfire aftermath

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With 250,000 combustible logs in his sawmill's northern yard, Howie Ewashko is not letting his guard down.

He and his staff spent this week fighting to keep Northland Forest Products Ltd.'s flagship operation north of Fort McMurray safe from flames threatening the property on multiple sides. The wildfires that have burnt out of control in the Fort McMurray region this month have kept the sawmill on high alert for more than two weeks. But the past two days were especially terrifying and exhausting.

"It's hard to get moving today because you're tired. Everybody is tired," Mr. Ewashko said Thursday. "It's been a long couple of weeks."

Since the Fort McMurray wildfire sped up again on Monday, the sawmill has been threatened by flames again and again. On the ground, about 20 sawmill workers and contractors were aided by about 10 provincial firefighters as the fire approached from multiple sides. From above, Mr. Ewashko said helicopters bombed the fire with water. The sawmill also has its own water supply, and workers used company firetrucks, water trucks, bulldozers and a fire system – including hydrants, water cannons and sprinklers – to battle the blaze.

"It kind of is the perfect environment for the fire. It's so dry and we have so little humidity in the air. It just took off."

Staff and management have been on site around the clock since May 3. On Monday, the province issued a mandatory evacuation order for the area where the sawmill sits, about 16 kilometres north of Fort McMurray. But Mr. Ewashko said his operation was not specifically included in the order. As officials have asked him to leave, he refers to his firm's evacuation plan and firefighting equipment on site. "I said, 'No, I'm not going to leave.'"

The family has been in the lumber business in the Fort McMurray region since the 1960s, when Mr. Ewashko's father, Roy, began the enterprise clearing the land for Alberta's first oil sands project, a site now operated by Suncor Energy Inc. Mr. Ewashko and his brother Craig bought the business from their parents almost 20 years ago, and Mr. Ewashko now serves as president of the private firm while his brother is the general manager.

They and their staff have now been fighting the Fort McMurray wildfire for more than two weeks. It's clear to them – and many other residents and businesses of the area – that the battle against blazes in the region isn't ending any time soon. Even Wednesday night, "you could see flames above the trees from the office," Mr. Ewashko said.

He said they used the break provided by Thursday's cooler, more humid weather conditions to increase the size of the already 400-metre fire break between the sawmill and the forest, and prepare for when the out-of-control wildfire starts "coming back at us again."