Wood-pellet plant in Entwistle, Alta., to resume partial operations in March

A wood-pellet production plant in Entwistle, Alta., which was rocked by a fire and explosion on Feb. 11, will reopen next month.

Dry fibre production at Pinnacle Renewable Energy will resume in March, the company said in a press release issued Friday. Once the investigation into the incident is complete, the company will decide on a timeline to gear up to full production.

The company also confirmed that 12 workers — six employees and six contractors — were injured in the incident at the plant, located about 100 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Most of the injuries were minor, the news release said, but one of the contractors, identified as Kody Richter, is still in hospital in Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital.

A stop work order was issued by Occupational Health and Safety following the incident, which caused damage to the dryer area of the plant.

The investigation by OHS and Parkland County fire department is continuing.

Since the fire, the company said it has brought in a critical incident counsellor for its workers. As well, Pinnacle said it is continuing to pay employee wages and benefits through the closure.

According to Pinnacle's website, the company is the world's third largest producer of wood pellets, used as fuel to burn in stoves or to generate electricity at power plants. The company has eight production facilities in Western Canada and one in Alabama.

The Entwistle plant started operating last year, creating 70 jobs in the area.

Explosions at Pinnacle plants have happened before. In October 2014, an explosion at the company's plant near Burns Lake, B.C., sent three people to hospital. The fire broke out in one of the drying units in the plant, which is used to dry wood, including chips and sawdust, before turning them into pellets.