Canfor has announced the closure of the Fox Creek Sawmill, effective at the end of the summer.
Officials say the decision reflects some of the ongoing challenges facing the operation, including: prolonged weak market conditions, persistent high US softwood lumber duties and tariffs, fibre supply impacts due to recent wildfires, and the conclusion of the mountain pine beetle management strategy.
When the sawmill was destroyed by a fire in 2008, it was rebuilt in 2011, as a single-shift operation to process the uplift in available timber as part of the Province of Alberta’s preventative strategy to reduce the amount of pine beetle susceptible forests.
Officials say with support from the Alberta’s Ministry of Forestry and Parks, the sawmill accessed additional sources of fibre to help sustain the operation and support economic activity. However, with the end of the pine beetle strategy and with wildfire-damaged timber now largely exhausted, there is insufficient fibre in the region to sustain the operation over the long term.
Officials added that with the prolonged weak markets and punishing duties and tariffs, this facility is no longer viable.
