Elphinstone logging Focus (ELF) has denied any involvement in the Oct. 21 logging equipment fire that occurred near the site of the group’s three-day blockade that ended Oct. 9.
In a Facebook posting on the day after the fire, ELF said its members were shocked to learn about the fire from Sunshine Coast RCMP.
“ELF has a stated mission of protecting important ecosystems through research and public input. All of our efforts work within the law,” the group said.
“The recent roadblock against logging in the Chapman was a form of legal protest. In a public meeting on Oct. 9 at the SCRD office, ELF agreed to remove the blockade and Surespan agreed that there was to be no further logging, at least until spring 2015. The whole process was respectful and peaceful,” the statement continued.
“ELF is fundamentally opposed to vandalism of any kind and we disassociate ourselves completely from this event.”
Police, meanwhile, are continuing to investigate the incident and issued a request on Monday for the public’s help.
Logging operators notified RCMP that fire had caused extensive damage to a log processor on the site near Dusty Road sometime between about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and 8 a.m. the next morning, when work crews arrived to find the machine still smouldering, RCMP media spokesman Const. Harrison Mohr said in a release.
While the fire has not officially been ruled an arson, “it certainly appears to be suspicious,” Mohr said.
“A locked gate at the start of the logging road was defeated overnight, and there were no known mechanical issues with the machine that would have sparked such a fire,” he said.
Police are asking anyone who was in the area on the night of Oct. 21 and saw anything suspicious, or who can provide further information about the fire, to contact Const. Glen Martin at 604-885-2266 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
