Mark Bryson received a call early on Friday morning stating that a massive equipment fire was burning along the Caycuse Main logging road, approximately an hour and 15 minutes outside of Lake Cowichan.
Three machines were destroyed, with Bryson saying that there are millions of dollars in damages.
“Saddened, you know, knowing that a lot of money had just gone up in flames,” Bryson said.
Lake Cowichan RCMP and the Lake Cowichan Fire Department were called to the scene and RCMP confirmed they are investigating the incident.
However, Bryson said he doesn’t think investigators have to look too far.
He said the logging equipment was stationed 30 minutes down the road from where heavy protests are taking place at Tree Farm License 44, where Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership (C̕awak ʔqin Forestry) operates a timberlands business.
A group of people has been protesting old-growth logging in B.C.
“You know, I am not going to accuse them directly, but… it seems like more than a coincidence to me,” Bryson said.
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“Nothing was stolen, nothing was taken, things were thrown about and the damage was done.”
Global News went to the protester camp, but no one there was authorized to comment on the matter and we did not receive a response to email requests.
“Currently, we’re logging only second growth in the area, so there is no old-growth in this area that we’re logging presently,” Bryson said.
“And there hasn’t been since we started here in May with this venture. And I’m not going to sit here and say that there won’t be old-growth logging, but at present it’s not, no.”
He added that now the machines are out of commission, so too are the seven people who operated them.
“This is doing nothing other than putting a lot of hard-working guys out of work. It’s very disheartening.”
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