Brian Bell

SEARSMONT, Maine — Support is growing across Maine for the Robbins family and workers injured in the May 16 fire and explosion at the Robbins Lumber mill, as investigators continue working to determine what caused the incident. The fire forced the family-owned mill in Searsmont to temporarily close, leaving logging contractors, carpenters, and other businesses that depend on Robbins Lumber facing difficult questions about what comes next. …Brian Bell, owner of Balance Forestry in Montville has supplied white pine logs to Robbins Lumber for more than a decade, said his relationship with the family has been strong since it began. Now, Bell said contractors who normally send wood to Robbins may have to look towards other mills. That comes with added trucking costs at a time when diesel prices and other expenses are already putting pressure on Maine’s logging industry. For Bell and many in the industry though, the emotional impact is even heavier than the financial uncertainty.