UPDATE -- January 22: Two workers are still missing more than a day and a half after a massive explosion decimated a sawmill in the central B.C. community of Burns Lake.
Twenty-five employees had been on shift at the Babine Forest Products mill Friday night when the blast ripped through the structure.
With the charred remnants of the building still smoldering on Saturday, investigators were unable to safely access the site. Global News was told it would take at least a day before anyone can get inside the mill.
The cause of the explosion has not been determined, but several people reported smelling gas in the hours leading up to the disaster.
Nineteen people remain in hospital. Four of them are said to be in critical condition.
Sawmill workers Tim and Nick Erickson were on scene when the incident happened. They told Global News they saw other workers emerge out of the mill with their clothes singed. They helped their disoriented colleagues into warm vehicles and tried to calm them down.
The Babine mill is the major employer in the community of 3600. Three hundred people worked there. The loss has potentially devastating consequences for the local economy.
“It is our largest employer, so as we move forward, we need to address the issues of how we are going to deal with the economic downturn,” said Burns Lake mayor Luke Strimbold. “And then you have the workers who are doing the logging to get the wood to the mill.”
After a few slow years during the recession, business had recently begun picking up.
It's not yet clear whether the mill will be rebuild, leaving employees -- many of whom have worked there for their entire lives -- wondering what they will do next.
“This sawmill is a lifeline of our community. Its loss is going to affect all aspects of life in Burns Lake as I see it,” said Burns Lake Fire Chief Jim McBride.
So far, the owner of the mill has not committed to rebuilding efforts. The company representatives were on site today talking to the workers and their families.
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An explosion and fire tore through a sawmill in this central B.C. community on Friday evening, sending 19 people to hospital, some with critical injuries, and prompting concerns about the ongoing viability of the town's major employer.
Two people were still unaccounted for Saturday morning, hours after the blast Friday evening at about 8:15 p.m.
"What I understand is there was a big fireball," said RCMP Const. Lesley Smith.
"As a result of that fireball, other things started exploding, so I'm assuming it was equipment related to a product mill."
Some workers told local media they had smelled gas.
The mill was still in flames Saturday morning, though the fire was under control. There are 250 employees at the mill and 30 were on shift at the time, Smith said.
Quinten Beach, a councillor in Burns Lake, confirmed in an interview that two people were missing after the explosion.
“We have a general idea of where these individuals were working,” said Burns Lake Fire Chief Jim McBride. “That is not to say they are at any one spot. We are definitely going to have to work out from all sides in an attempt to trace were they are.”
Steve Raper, a spokesman for the Northern Health Authority, said four people were released from hospital, but the other 15 had to remain.
He said hospitals from around the region had been mobilized to look after the injured. Two people have been airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital and two were flow to Edmonton, eight were taken to hospital in Prince George and the remaining injured were treated at local hospitals.
He wouldn't comment on whether anyone was dead.
"We don't know that yet. We just treated people that have come into the facility. The RCMP and the fire (service) may be able to determine if there were fatalities. At this point the 19 we treated were living."
Raper said from what he understood, it was a range of injuries.
"Burns, up to and including critical but no confirmation on what those numbers are and what that exactly is."
Smith also wouldn't comment on any fatalities.
The Northern Health Authority instituted a code orange, a procedure for mass causalities.
Rayanne Charlie lives near the mill, which is on land leased from the Burns Lake Indian Band.
"As far as we know there are still two unaccounted for and they're both First Nation," she said.
"There's been a lot of people with really serious injuries. It's been a pretty rough night."
Charlie said she's been up all night with her husband, who is a former chief of the band, and band members have been coming in and out of her house. Everyone is trying to help other community members, she said.
Charlie said she's heard so many different stories about the possible smell of gas, but it's hard to know what to believe.
"It's difficult to get to the bottom of it," she said, adding the explosion caused the lights in her home to flicker out.
An unnamed employee of the mill told the Lakes District News the explosion was huge.
"It was so loud," said the employee.
"About half the crew has been seriously injured. . .I was one of the lucky ones as I was working down the other end of the mill. ... I don't know if everyone is okay or even where half the crew is."
Megan Benson, 24, lives about 10 minutes from the mill.
Though she didn't hear the explosion, she told The Canadian Press in an interview Saturday: "I could smell it from our house. And you could see the smoke."
She said several of her friends were at the mill at the time of the blast. While no deaths have been reported so far, many are injured, some badly, she said.
"Some were able to phone from the hospital, others weren't as lucky," she said.
Emergency services from neighbouring communities of Fraser Lake, Houston, and Vanderhoof were brought in to deal with the flames. Within hours, they ran out of water, because the mill is on the outskirts of town, according to Burns Lake Fire Chief.
Burns Lake is a town of 3600 people in central British Columbia. It's about 200 kilometers west of Prince George.
Burns Lake Mayor Luke Strimbold said the community is "in the midst of dealing with a serious incident.
"This is a difficult time for our community and we need to pull together to ensure we provide the best support possible," he said in a statement.
"Every individual, their families, and all those involved are in our thoughts."
Benson said alongside worries about the wounded came those about the mill itself, a strong presence in the community. About a quarter of the town is connected to the mill in some fashion, she added.
"People are scared," she said. "That's our livelihood ... that's how we feed our family."
The mill is owned by Babine Forest Products, which is a joint venture between Portland, Oregon based forest company Hampton Affiliates and the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation.
Global News has not been able to reach the company for comment.
The provincial Forest Practices Board conducted an audit of the company last fall and said in a news release from earlier this month that the company "showed a high standard of forest operations."
The audit dealt with the company's woodland operations. The news release made no mention of the sawmill.
The RCMP say the cause of the fire is not known at this time and is still under investigation.
Anyone who has not yet checked in with authorities or has information about the fire is asked to call the Burns Lake RCMP immediately.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark issued the following statement on last night's explosion.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured and with their families. I join all British Columbians in praying for their speedy recovery.
"As officials remain on the scene, I want Mayor Luke Strimbold and the entire community to know they have the full support of government as they go through this very difficult time."
Global News has a crew in Burns Lake. We will have more updates coming up at 6 p.m. and throughout the day on Twitter at @globalbc.
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