Blackwell Dairy fire investigation halted until Monday

KAMLOOPS – Questions about what caused the aggressive blaze that took out the Blackwell Dairy processing plant will have to wait until Monday.

Kamloops Fire Rescue personal were still on scene at the Barnhartvale farm yesterday, June 15, after an overnight fire ravaged the building.

Dean Olstad with Kamloops Fire Rescue says crews are waiting for help and big equipment from insurance companies.

"We will work with them. With a building and operation this large, we don't have an excavator and they do," he says. "With this one here, there's no sense in us even starting."

While Olstad wouldn't say if the building was a total loss, he did say because of the severe damage, the chances of renovations are "slim to none."

"Starting from scratch would probably be in everyone's best interest," he says.

Owner Ted Blackwell intends to rebuild the family business as soon as possible.

Yesterday, June 15, investigators were on scene, but did not enter the building.

"We grabbed a lay of the land. It's still steaming and smoking so we didn't go into the structure. Now it's secure and being monitored," Olstad says.

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