The mayor of 100 Mile House is feeling optimistic about the future of the lumber industry in his town despite hardships in recent years.

The industry has been devastated in the area, with Norbord pulling up stakes at its mill last year and West Fraser downsizing the year prior. Those decisions were made as a result of wildfires affecting timber supply, pine beetle kill wood ending and, at those times, an uneconomical market for lumber.

But, lumber prices have now been hitting record highs. While on the NL Morning News, mayor Mitch Campsall was asked if that would have an effect on the community. ”

Well it does. It’s always good when our sawmills are making money then you have less fear of another mill going down so this is obviously good news for the community,” he says.

“We’re working on trying to get something else in the this community and when you get those lumber prices there then it makes it more viable to bring in some of that wood maybe they wouldn’t bring in.”

When pressed about what that “something else” is, the mayor said there are plans in the works. “We’re looking at other things coming into the community. There’s always a chance. We’re working with three different companies hopefully to bring them in.”

And what about those three companies? “It’ll deal with the softwood lumber, actually the logging industry, it’ll help that out a bit. So we’ve got something else coming, I can’t say what it is yet but we’ve go something in the wings and we’ve got three different companies working on it.”

Campsall said at this stage he couldn’t elaborate on what the three companies are planning, only that it has to do with the logging industry.