An early New Year's Day fire destroyed a major component of a sawmill in Bearden that is the Ouachita County community's largest employer.
But the Anthony Timberlands Inc. pine sawmill and its 215 employees will be working by next week, the company's president, Steven M. Anthony, said Friday morning.
The fire was discovered about 12:30 a.m., about 30 minutes after a private security firm had made its hourly round of the sawmill property, he said.
By the time an employee discovered the fire, it was fully involved, Anthony said. The fire was contained by 2 a.m. and "pretty much out" by 4 a.m., he said.
Fire departments from Camden, Fordyce, Harmony Grove and East Camden assisted Bearden volunteer firefighters in extinguishing the blaze. Authorities hadn't established Friday how the fire began.
"We're not even sure where it started," Anthony said.
The fire destroyed the part of the sawmill called the band mill, the main department for breaking down large logs, according to a news release. Its operation employs a dozen people and accounts for about 15 percent of total mill production.
A newer processing facility for small logs, called the sharp chain mill, was undamaged, the news release said.
"We can operate the rest of the mill without [the band mill] but will need to replace it in order to maintain the capability of processing the larger logs produced from area timberland," Anthony said.
Replacing it will cost several million dollars and take eight to 10 months, he said.
The rest of the sawmill operation was largely unaffected.
"While there may be some electrical work needed in order to bypass the damaged areas, we anticipate the remainder of the mill to resume operations within a week, albeit at slightly reduced production levels," Anthony said.
In the meantime, the band mill employees will be reassigned to other departments.
The fire happened less than a week after a tornado struck the sawmill. The tornado caused only minor damage, the news release said.
The twister touched down in Bearden on Sunday and traveled 5.8 miles, according to the National Weather Service. Damage was widespread and varied, but no one was injured.
"Our little town has been through a lot this past week," said Iva Lou Stoker, mayor of the town of 966.
She expressed relief that the fire didn't cause more damage to the sawmill.
"We are so thankful," she said. "Not only is it a major source of employment, it is part of our history. It's where the grandparents worked, where the parents worked and, now, where their children work. It supports everything in our town."
Metro on 01/02/2016