In what has become a familiar refrain for communities suffering sawmill closures, curtailment, or suspended operations B.C.’s Forests minister says help is on the way for 100 Mile House.

In the last three weeks alone sawmill operations have been cut back in Merritt, Canfor announced it will close its sawmill in Vavenby and curtail operations province wide.

And yesterday Norbord suspended its sawmill operations in 100 Mile House indefinitely.

Forests minister Doug Donaldson help is coming for the 160 impacted workers and their families.

“I know how devastating these circumstances can be in small towns. I live in a very small town Hazelton and we lost our mills so I witnesses the stress that puts on community members. Our first priority is with the workers and we have a community transition response team that is on its way to 100 Mile House as well as other communities that have been impacted by these kinds of closures.”

He says the problems plaguing the forest industry have been there for years.

“The solutions cannot crop up overnight either. What we are looking at is how to utilize more timber. How do you get more timber out of the woods? There is a lot of timber left behind on landings and in the forest after harvesting. We know that we have a limited timber supply. Considering ecological constraints how do you get the remaining volume out in a way that is feasible and affordable and can be used by those who want to add value to that timber.”

With the closure of Canfor’s Vavenby sawmill, the curtailment B.C. wide of its operations, and the suspension of the Norbord mill in 100 Mile House the problems boil down to a lack of timber supply and soaring costs.

“Costs are a function of supply and we have limited supply in the forest because of the beetle kill wood coming down. We can do somethings around making appraisals for efficient and making different systems within government more efficient. Many people point to stumpage but I have to say stumpage reflects the cost of logs. Stumpage goes up and goes down as log costs go up and down.”

Donaldson warns of a tough transition ahead as his government launches an effort to renew the troubled forestry sector.