After a fire caused an explosion Friday morning at the Robbins Lumber mill on Route 131, dozens of Searsmont residents gathered on Appleton Ridge Road around noon to watch as the flames at the mill continued to spread.
Searsmont resident Devin Richards was sitting on the bed of his pickup truck watching the fire which had doubled in size in the two hours he’d been there.
His grandfather and many men of his generation worked at the mill. “Robbins lumber is Searsmont,” he said. “Searsmont wouldn’t be Searsmont without Robbins Lumber”
Some on the ridge blinked back tears watching as the fire raged.
One resident who didn’t want to be named said, “Not knowing is the worst part.”
Officials with the Maine Department of Public Safety and Maine Forest Service are expected to brief reporters at around 2:30 where Route 131 has been shut down.
George Sprowl, another Searsmont resident, was taking photos of the fire with a zoom lens. He was walking his dog this morning and saw smoke. “And then suddenly the sky went back all at once,” he said.
“That must be when things let go,” he said referring to the silo that held wood shavings that exploded.
Sprowl said most people in town are connected to the mill. It is “by far” the most important employer in Searsmont, he said.
“I don’t know how many people have been hurt there, but just so many of them we probably know, you know.”
“This is a terrible catastrophe for Searsmont,” he said.
Multiple fire departments from Waldo and Knox counties sent firefighters to the scene after an initial response Friday morning from the Searsmont Fire Department. Multiple ambulances and two LifeFlight helicopters responded to the scene after the explosion.
Route 131 by the mill was still shut down around mid-afternoon as firefighters worked to put out the flames while smoke continued to rise hundreds of feet into the overcast sky.
