Community Leaders: Pyramid Mill Closure in Seeley Lake 'Devastating,' 'Heartbreaking'

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"With the heaviest of hearts," Pyramid Mountain Lumber's board of directors voted Thursday to close its Seeley Lake, Mont., mill, which employs around 100 people and was the town's largest employer for four generations.

The company, which has been family-owned and operated since 1949, blamed a "financial crisis that is worse than challenges the mill weathered in 2000, 2007 and 2015," the Missoulian reports.

Among other things, labor shortages, lack of housing, unprecedented rising costs, plummeting lumber prices, and the cost of living in western Montana have crippled Pyramid's ability to operate, the company said.

Tom Browder, chairperson of the Seeley Lake Community Council, estimated the closure will mean roughly $4 million to $5 million in annual payroll will disappear from the community.

"It's really important to acknowledge what a big shift and huge change of a way of life this means for Seeley Lake," says Claire Muller, head of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation.

"This is a huge community institution and part of their community identity."

Pyramid said in a press release that its success has been derived from its focus on product quality, stewardship of Montana's forests, and, of course, its employees.

Roger Johnson, who served as president and

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