A man in his 40s is dead after a workplace incident on a forestry operation on northern Vancouver Island. B.C. Coroners Service and WorkSafe B.C. were notified Sunday of the death, which happened at a logging site near Holberg. The Forestry Ministry said the logger worked for Lemare Lake Logging, a company based in Port McNeill. According to the company’s website, it has a team of 400 forestry workers and has been operating on northern Vancouver Island and B.C.’s central coast for more than 30 years. Richmond Plywood Ltd. holds the forest licence. …Neither the B.C. Coroners Service nor WorkSafe B.C. has released the cause of death, but both agencies are investigating. …WorkSafe’s investigation will try to determine the cause of the incident and contributing factors to prevent similar incidents in the future, Fitzsimmons said. Last year, five logging workers were killed in workplace accidents.
A media report says a wood pellet plant west of Edmonton where a fire and explosion occurred this week was also the scene of a fire early last month. Three people, including one with serious injuries, were sent to hospital after the blast Monday at the Pinnacle Renewable Energy site in Entwistle. CTV News says Alberta Labour reports there was a fire at the complex on Jan. 2 that did not result in injuries. …Andrea Johnston, Pinnacle’s chief financial officer, has said in a statement that Monday’s fire and explosion were a first for the plant and the complex has a strong safety record to date. …Pinnacle has not yet determined the cause of the fire and provincial investigators remain at the plant, which began operations last September.