It's thought the fire flared up September 4 when electricity was restored at the kiln, said Oakhill Fire Chief John Robart, and fans reactivated at a feed auger device that had heat built up in it during the outage. Heavy rain and wind from Hurricane Earl temporarily knocked out power in the area.
"Fire was quickly contained with minimal damage to the auger and control system," he said, noting his department was able to determine there were no further sparks in the wood feed when the auger resumed operation.
Dayspring firefighters were also dispatched to assist at AbitibiBowater. Crews remained on scene for about an hour.