Area firefighters battle Sandpoint mill fire
—Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER<br>Area firefighters aim fire at a bark pile on fire at the Macfarland Mill on Baldy Mountain Road on Friday.
SANDPOINT — An overheated bearing is being blamed for starting a conveyor belt fire and causing a propane tank pressure value to explode Friday afternoon.
According to a preliminary investigation, a bearing on the conveyor belt likely overheated Friday afternoon about 3:25 p.m., which ignited a nearby bark pile, said Mick Adams, captain with the Sandpoint Fire Department.
The fire damaged the conveyor belt and a nearby tower as well as the bark pile, Adams said.
At first, the fire was reported as two separate incidents — a explosion at the mill and a possible conveyor belt fire at a nearby business.
When fire crews arrived on scene, they determined the fire was at the mill and that the blaze had likely caused the pressure valve of a propane tank used to de-ice the conveyor belt in the winter to pop off.
Because of the initial call, Adams said mutual aid was provided by Northside, Sagle and Westside fire departments — all of which have experience with bark and sawdust fires.
"It worked out very well," he said. "People weren't getting overheated and we worked together as a team to get the fire out."
The fire remains under investigation.