Columbia Falls firefighters responded to a fire in the hot oil room of the Weyerhaeuser MDF plant early Thursday morning.

An oil circulation pump seized and caught on fire, Columbia Falls Fire Chief Karl Weeks said.  Fortunately the plant’s fire suppression system did a good job of knocking down the fire, Weeks said and there was minimal damage to the plant. 

No one was injured. 

The initial call was that a 5,000 gallon tank of oil was on fire, but fortunately that was not the case, Weeks said. Evergreen, Whitefish and Bad Rock all responded with mutual aid. 

Firefighters first received the call at 3:34 a.m. and were on scene 11 minutes later. They cleared at 5:08 a.m., Weeks said. 

The plant  earlier this month became operational after being down for several weeks due to an explosion and fire on Feb. 19. 

No one was injured in that incident, but the plant suffered extensive damage. The explosion was caused by an electrical arc in the power distribution center which runs both lines of the massive plant. 

The plant is the largest electrical power user in the Flathead Valley.

 Weyerhaeuser spokeswoman Betsy Earl said the area impacted by the pump fire Thursday was fully operational by the end of the day.

"We appreciate the ongoing support of local firefighters and first responders and are grateful for their assistance," Earls said.