Last week, a wildfire forced the evacuation and eventual incineration of the small community of Lytton, located hallway between Kamloops and Vancouver in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada. One person was killed and several were injured in the hasty evacuation of about 250 citizens. Residents of western Canada and the northwestern U.S. have endured extreme heat and drought conditions this summer.
The fire also damaged infrastructure including the rail line that connects Teck Resource’s coking coal operations with Pacific Coast terminals. The company said it has implemented measures to mitigate the effect of the disruption, rerouting shipments to Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert. Limited rail traffic flow to the Lower Mainland terminals was reinstituted the afternoon of July 5.
Canadian Pacific and Canadian National rail lines are working to assess damage and begin repairs. Based on guidance provided by the railways, Teck said its third-quarter coking coal sales could be reduced by 300,000 to 500,000 metric tons (mt). Teck is also taking steps to mitigate the effect of rail disruption to the transportation of product from Highland Valley Copper operations, which it said is not expected to have a material effect on third-quarter sales at this time.
Teck extended its condolences to all those impacted by wildfires and the company is reaching out to local emergency service and relief providers in the Thompson-Nicola region to offer support to aid residents. The company also said it was closely monitoring the wildfire risk for all of its operations and it has comprehensive emergency management plans in place.
