Company donating enough lumber to re-build 50 buildings in Lytton, B.C.
The company will work with local organizers to determine the best way to rebuild the community.
Insurers are still calculating the damage costs of the fire that killed at least two people and destroyed 90 per cent of Lytton, B.C. in early July, following an unprecedented heat event.
As crews begin to demolish partially-standing structures and assess the destruction, initial estimates suggest insurance claims could approach $100 million.
In the meantime, donations have been pouring in to help people impacted by the fire, including Teal Jones, a lumber product manufacturing company in Surrey, B.C. that recently announced its plans to donate enough lumber to rebuild 50 homes and buildings in Lytton and Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council/Lytton First Nation .
Jack Gardner, a log broker for Teal Jones, says his company felt compelled to help. The company founded by his great-grandfather in 1946 has been affected by fires in the past. One of the most significant events happened about 20 years ago when a large fire sparked after campers violated a campfire ban, igniting flames that tore through a large timber supply area.
The company was able to recover quickly, thanks to help from the logger community.
"We just wanted to pay that past assistance forward," Gardner says.
"We encourage others to get involved and do the same thing.”
The company will be working with government officials and the First Nations tribal council to coordinate the delivery and work with community organizers to determine the best ways to rebuild.
All of the donated lumber comes from B.C.'s working forests and will be processed in Teal Jones' mills.
Thumbnail image courtesy: Getty.
