Fire causes millions of dollars in damage to Bearden sawmill

Stacey Spivey with our content partner KATV Ch. 7 News reports:

As most were ringing in the new year, fire crews were working to put out a fire that started at the pine sawmill owned by Anthony Timberlands, Inc. in Bearden.

According to a release from Anthony Timberlands, the fire was reported about midnight on New Year’s Eve, and the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

Fire departments from Bearden, Camden, Fordyce, Harmony Grove and East Camden responded and were able to contain the fire to the bandmill, “which acts as the main department for breaking down large logs at the Bearden facility,” according to the release.

“The Bandmill accounts for roughly 15% of total mill production,” according to ATI President Steven M. Anthony. “We can operate the rest of the mill without it, but will need to replace it in order to maintain the capability of processing the larger logs produced from area timberland. 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.”

12 people work in the area damaged by the fire, but those employees will reportedly be reassigned to other departments.

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