UPDATE: No major damage after pellet plant blast and fire

UPDATE: 9:35 a.m.

Despite an explosion and spectacular fire at the Pinnacle Pellet plant in Lavington early Monday morning, the owner says damage does not appear to be major.

“At approximately 3 a.m. Monday morning, May 11th, Pinnacle’s Lavington pellet plant experienced a process upset that resulted in a fire in one of the two dryer systems,” said a statement from Scott Baz, chief operating officer for Pinnacle Renewable Energy. “There were no injuries and the scene is safe.”

Plant manager Jamie Colliss also expressed his thanks to first response personnel from Coldstream and Lavington who tackled the fire.

WorkSafeBC and relevant authorities have been notified and a preliminary investigation is underway to determine the contributing factors to the incident, Baz said.

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“Plant production will be curtailed for the time being as we investigate the contributing factors and work with the authorities. Employees will continue to come to work as usual.”

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An explosion preceded a fire this morning at the Pinnacle Pellet plant in Lavington.

Fire chief Marty Wright said it started when a fan unit exploded at the site next the Tolko mill around 2:45 a.m.

About two dozen firefighters from Lavington and Coldstream were able to knock down the flames within 15 minutes.

“The plant’s fire suppression system kicked-in and it was contained to the fan chamber unit,” Wright told Vernon Matters.

While there were workers at the scene, no one was injured, and the site has been turned back over to the company.

The amount of damage is not known at this time.

Wright said 13 members from the Lavington Fire Department responded along with nine from the Coldstream department.