PICKENS — A Pickens sawmill caught fire last Wednesday night, and as of press time the cause of the blaze has not been determined.
A utility building at Durham’s Hardwood, located off U.S. 178 in Pickens, caught fire around 10 p.m., according to officials. The initial cause was thought to be an electrical transformer explosion on site. The building housed a dump truck, a tractor trailer and tools.
Pickens firefighters battled the blaze for more than an hour before bringing the fire under control.
According to officials with the Pickens Fire Department, the building was destroyed but the fire was held to the structure and did not damage the mill itself. Employees of the business were allowed back to work the following morning.
The mill was closed at the time of the fire, so no injuries were reported.
The fire is still under investigation by the Pickens Fire Department.
The same mill fell victim to a damaging fire in 2008 when the mill was devastated by a blaze that was assessed at more than a million dollars in damages. The owner rebuilt at that time and reopened.