Three-alarm fire destroys Surrey sawmill

Fire crewshave put outa three-alarm blaze at the MacKenzie Sawmill in Surrey.

The Surrey fire department says two thirds of the mill has been destroyed by the fire, which started at about 11 a.m. PT.

At the height of the fire, flames and heavy black smoke couldbe seen from the neighbourhood, in the area of of 130 Street and 116 Avenue.

There were no reported injuries from the fire, but workers are worried about the fate of the mill's 140 jobs, said employee Iqbal Purewal.

"It's so bad becauseI work all my life here,"Purewal told CBC News. "Now I am close to retirement and it was my second home."

He saidthe mill was shutdown temporarily after a smaller fire damaged some equipment in November.

Purewall saidworkers were hoping to go back to work in March.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.