The Columbia Falls fire chief says wood dust is the likely cause of Tuesday afternoon’s explosion and fire at the Plum Creek Timber Co.’s fiberboard plant. Company officials, however, say the cause of the blast is still under investigation.

“Fine wood is a combustible material and if you get a spark it will light just like natural gas,” Fire Chief Rick Hagen said Wednesday afternoon.

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All workers are safe after an explosion hit the Plum Creek Timber Co. medium density fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls, company officials confirmed to the Beacon.

Kathy Budinick, spokesperson for Plum Creek, said the plant’s employees were all accounted for after an explosion rocked the facility this afternoon. Earlier reports were that up to 50 people were missing in the aftermath.

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