Fire Rips Through Town’S Sawmill Plummer Blaze Leaves 125 Employees Anxious

A mammoth fire destroyed most of the Rayonier sawmill in Plummer Friday night, leaving 125 workers in this small town stunned and worried about their futures.

One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion in the blaze that started between 6 and 6:30 p.m., said Jim Shubert, assistant fire chief for the St. Maries Fire District.

Friday evening, thick smoke could be seen in the sky 20 miles north of Plummer.

Fire officials didn’t know Friday night what caused the blaze, which engulfed the main production warehouse within 15 minutes. Shubert said it appears the mill’s production area was destroyed, leaving only some storage sites and equipment that was housed away from the main building.

Firefighters let part of the mill, which is on the west side of Highway 95, burn out overnight in a controlled burn.

Company officials said they needed time to survey the damage before they decide what to do next. They’ve made no cost estimate of damages.

Shubert said fire hydrants in Plummer are low-volume, which made “water supply a problem.” Additional water trucks were brought in to fight the blaze, along with firefighters from the Worley and Tensed fire districts, the Idaho Department of Lands, the St. Maries Fire District and officials from the Potlatch Corp.

“We got a lot of people who want to help,” Shubert said. “We got a lot of employees who want to save their jobs and I can’t blame them, but we have a problem with people going in without protective gear.”

In the hazy air Friday, workers and their families stood by anxiously, and onlookers lined up along Highway 95. The air smelled like a giant campfire.

Kathy Kolar, whose husband and two sons work at the mill, said people were afraid.

“It’s a lot of people’s lives,” she said. “I’m sure that a lot of them are worrying about food and rent and car payments.”

Kolar and her husband also own the Gateway Cafe in Plummer, which was supplying food and drinks for firefighters and employees.

Robert Schow, a chipper/edger operator, said the warehouse was like a wind tunnel. The fire “just ripped right through. There’s nothing left.”

Rayonier is based in Stamford, Conn. The mill and the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe are the two largest employers in the small town.