Roseburg Forest Products announced it has agreed in principle with four law firms representing the majority of claims to settle the families’ property losses, personal injuries and wrongful death claims arising from the Sept. 2 Mill Fire near Weed, California.
“We know we can’t bring back loved ones nor the homes that were destroyed, but Roseburg’s substantial settlement offers, hopefully, will provide the resources for homeowners to rebuild their houses and the community,” said Pete Hillan, a Roseburg spokesperson.
The four law firms – Reiner Slaughter Mainzer & Frankel; Parkinson Benson Potter; Singleton Schreiber, and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy – represent more than 700 individuals impacted by the Mill Fire who hold real property and structure damage claims, personal property damage, claims, personal injury claims, bodily injury claims, and wrongful death claims, among other claims.
The lawyers intend to recommend the agreed-upon settlement terms to their clients and will await review and approval of the proposed settlements by the clients themselves. The terms of the agreement in principle stipulate that the amount of each family’s settlement, if agreed to by the family, will be confidential.
The Mill Fire burned 3,935 acres, killing two residents and destroying more than 115 buildings, most of them homes, while damaging dozens more. The cause of the deadly Mill Fire has not been officially determined.
However, CAL FIRE personnel have focused their investigation on a wooden warehouse Roseburg has acknowledged it used to store hot ash.
Rayonier Inc. completed its previously announced acquisitions of high-quality commercial timberlands located in Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana.
The timberlands were acquired from Manulife Investment Management for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $454 million, after customary purchase price adjustments at closing.
The acquisitions comprise approximately 137,800 acres of well-stocked and highly productive timberlands located in some of the strongest timber markets in the U.S. South.
“We are pleased to have successfully closed on this collection of premier quality timberland assets,” said David Nunes, president and CEO. “We expect to integrate these properties into our portfolio immediately and look forward to managing them for long-term value creation.”
Rayonier no longer anticipates acquiring the approximately 34,500-acre long-term lease located in Georgia, as the seller and Rayonier mutually agreed to extract this portion of the property from the transaction in order to achieve the seller’s objective of closing by year end.
As a result, Rayonier now expects the acquisitions to contribute an average annual harvest volume of approximately 725,000 tons over the next 10 years.
Webcor Timber is the newest division formed within Webcor Craft, the self-perform group of San Francisco-based commercial general contractor and builder Webcor.
After growing a strong internal team preparing to enter the market over the last several years, Webcor’s recent award of two mass timber projects spurred the decision to establish Webcor Timber as a discrete division, joining Webcor Concrete, Webcor Drywall, Webcor Carpentry, and Webcor Equipment.
Upon completion, one of these projects is expected to be the tallest mass timber structure in California and the third tallest in the world.
The tallest mass timber project in the state is currently under construction in Oakland. The 16 stories of mass timber on a three-story concrete podium will serve as affordable housing developed by oWow, a startup developer that has garnered considerable attention for its approach to the housing crisis.
The next Webcor Timber project will be Webcor’s second for Skyline Builders, a retrofit of an office building in San Francisco.
Over the past two years, the nascent Webcor Timber team has been attending webinars and conferences, researching all aspects of the mass timber systems, and meeting with countless vendors and suppliers to gain knowledge and insight into the rapidly growing mass timber market.
ON THE COVER
TimberPro feller buncher harvesting trees in Montana for Skookum Timber Harvesting
Keeping Montana Forests Healthy
Ken Swanstrom, owner of Skookum Timber Harvesting, is well known for his goal of harvesting for the future good of Montana forests.
Versatility Helps Keep Oregon Company Busy
Brian Thomas, owner of NWTL Inc. (Northwest Trees and Land), prides himself on the versatility of his company, which has kept him in business for 15 years.
DEPARTMENTS
