OMAK - Leaders of the Colville Tribes are assessing what to do with the nearly 100-year-old plywood and veneer mill in Omak that was leveled by the Cold Springs Canyon fire last month.
Located off SR 155, the bygone relic opened in 1921 and had been operating intermittently since the Tribe purchased it in 2002.
The Cold Springs Canyon Fire reduced the building to a field of rubble on Sept. 8. Now, the Tribe says their number one priority is to clean up the site immediately to prevent compounding environmental issues.
Omak mill site
Photo: Maurice Goodall/Okanogan County Sheriff's Office
iFIBER ONE News spoke to Colville Tribes Chairman Rodney Cawston Wednesday afternoon.
“Right now, we want to get the site cleaned up as soon as possible,” Cawston told iFIBER ONE News. “We are assessing the environmental damage done because of the fire, we want to get moving on it right away because it’s a safety hazard.”
Cawston appeared to be dreading the costs associated with efforts to shore up environmental hazards posed by the demolished buildings on the 40-acre site.
As the Tribe looks ahead, Cawston says there are a number of options that the Tribe is considering. Cawston says he, his colleagues, and tribal community members are looking at converting the site into medical facilities to provide better healthcare to the area or improve local forest health by building a environmental lumber mill that processes forest fuels, bio-charcoal, and/or manufactures cross-laminated lumber.
Cawston says the Tribe hopes to have the lumber mill site completely cleaned up by next summer and will make a decision on what to do with the vacant site soon.