By NBC NewsPublished Aug 04, 2018 05:04:53Hills lumber has health warnings but no health advisories.
The federal government is taking a closer look at the health warnings on the lumber in a state where the industry has been growing amid the wildfires that have ravaged the area.
U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Cascio said Thursday that the agency will take a close look at those health warnings, but declined to provide specifics.
“We’re looking at all of the different factors that go into it,” he said.
“What’s happening is they’re taking the information that we have now and looking at it on a case-by-case basis.”
Hills timber company spokesman Steve Toth said Thursday he did not know why the company changed its labeling.
“It’s a business decision,” he told The Associated Press.
“Hills Timber is doing what’s best for the company and our employees.”
Houses, yards and businesses in the fire-ravaged area have been evacuated or destroyed by the fire.
Some are still without power, and there are no major roads left in the area, according to The Associated, which has obtained a map showing the wildfire’s progress.
Some lumber companies have had to remove the warnings from their products, while others have moved them to a safer place, such as a safe room, according of the U.
S Department of Agriculture.
Hills, the largest of the three timber companies, has not responded to questions from The Associated about the changes.
“In this day and age, no company is going to be able to take all the risk and the expense and risk that goes with having these health warnings in place,” Toth told the AP.
