Employees at Plum Creek Timber Co.’s fiberboard plant are back at work today picking up the pieces of this week’s explosion and fire in Columbia Falls. Company spokesperson Kate Tate says all 183 medium density fiberboard plant employees are assisting in the cleanup as the investigation into the cause of Tuesday’s explosion begins.
Tate said an initial inspection of the facility showed that much of the equipment inside the fiberboard plant escaped the blast unscathed, but there was extensive water damage to the facility’s computer systems. Tate estimates that the plant could be reopened in a month.
Earlier this week, Columbia Falls Fire Chief Rick Hagen said wood dust was the likely cause of the explosion, adding that his department has responded to smaller wood dust fires in years past. Tate said it was too early to tell what caused the explosion but said all aspects would be considered.
“Wood dust is something we’ll be looking at, but until the investigation is complete we’d rather not speculate,” she said. “We’ll know more in the coming days.”
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also opened an investigation into the cause of the blast, according to Assistant Area Director Art Hazen in Billings. Hazen said that investigation could take up to six months to complete.
More than a dozen emergency agencies from around the Flathead Valley responded to the explosion that occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday. Initial reports said that more than 50 people were missing but all of the workers were later accounted for. No injuries were reported.