Plum Creek Timber Co.’s medium-density fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls is expected to be back to full production later this week following an explosion and fire on June 10.

A week ago the plant restarted its No. 2 production line, a newer line built in 2001 for $80 million that manufactures a continuous-press thin fiberboard that’s one-tenth of an inch thick.

“Over the course of the week we had a few electrical issues, but it’s working very well,” said Tom Ray, vice president of Northwest Resources and Manufacturing for Plum Creek.

Crews are still working to bring back production of the older No. 1 line that produces the thicker fiberboard of up to 1 1/4 inches thick.

“In the next couple of days we’ll be ready to be testing it, and we’re hoping to have it back up later this week,” Ray said. “That puts us right at the 30-day mark.”

A catastrophic bearing failure on a raw material feed line triggered a series of explosions in the ductwork of the plant, which resulted in a massive fire that drew response from 10 fire departments and other first responders. Nearly 70 firefighters battled the blaze in rotating teams.

The 66 plant workers and two contractors in the building at the time of the explosions and fire were able to escape without injury. The plant employs about 180 people.

Plum Creek officials are still working to determine the dollar amount of damage caused to the plant. Some exterior building repair will continue even after full production resumes, Ray said.

The plant shutdown caused only minimal impact to most customers because Plum Creek was able to ship fiberboard from its existing inventory.

“We had about a month’s worth of inventory, so for the most part we were able to work with customers to make sure they were not inconvenienced,” Ray said.

Ray credited the work force with the cleanup and repair needed to restore production. No employees were laid off during the temporary shutdown.

“We’ve been very pleased with the employees’ effort,” he said. “And all the work has been done safely.”

Plum Creek has found strong markets for its fiberboard in commercial and industrial applications in recent years.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.