Monday Morning Fire Destroys R-Y Timber’s Planer Building and Machinery in Livingston, Montana

An early morning fire on Monday (9-12-22) at R-Y Timber in Livingston, Montana, destroyed the company’s planer building and its contents. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the planer building, and no other buildings at the facility were impacted.

Dan Richards, the general manager at R-Y Timber, said the fire started around 6:00 AM and the apparent cause of the blaze was an electrical spark and a “dust explosion.” Richards reported that one employee was injured and life-flighted to a Salt Lake City hospital with burns.

The sawmill takes timbers grown in the Rocky Mountains and produces 2×4 and 2×6 in various stud trims. Richards said it was too early to determine how the fire would impact operations or employees. The Livingston facility employees approximately 70 employees.

In May of this year, R-Y Timber’s shuttered sawmill in Townsend, Montana, was destroyed by fire, with the facility and its contents deemed a total loss.