Merritt Fire Rescue Department has a fire at the Tolko mill under control this afternoon.
Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson said eleven firefighters and two fire engines arrived on scene to a pile of wood waste burning in the mill yard.
Tolko staff were already dousing the flames with water hoses and MFRD assisted in knocking out the fire.
There were flames coming from the pile when the fire department arrived, Tomkinson said.
A front-end loader from the mill was used to break apart the pile and firefighters watered down the wood waste to ensure the flames were fully extinguished.
There is no danger to the public, Tomkinson said.

The cause of a fire of this nature is typically spontaneous combustion.

MFRD doesn’t believe the fire to be deliberately set, Tomkinson told the Herald.
He said the fire was contained to the surface of the sawdust pile.
The wood waste, combined with the heat from the sun makes spontaneous combustion a possibility.
The temperature this afternoon in Merritt is about 32C.
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