Heavy rainfall over the weekend made it difficult for the province’s interior loggers to get into the bush.
Wild weather and high stream flows forced the closure of Highway 52 in the Peace Region, and affected settlements as far south as Prince George, where a state of emergency was declared Sunday due to flooding.
Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP), which owns 19 sawmills and pulp mills in the interior, told Business in Vancouver the poor weather has worsened logging road conditions and made it difficult for workers to harvest timber.
As a result, the log inventory at the company’s sawmills is lower than usual.
But spokeswoman Christine Kennedy said business is humming along despite the tough conditions.
“Everybody starts the spring-summer with tight inventories and the weather has not made the guys’ job simpler, but everything is running,” said Kennedy.
She added that the company’s Prince George pulp mills, which are near the Fraser and Nechako rivers, are water-free.
Still, Kennedy said the company is “constantly” watching water levels and doing its best to mitigate weather-related impacts on its business.
At press time, Canfor’s shares were up $0.02 to $10.12.
Joel McKay
Twitter:jmckaybiv