Georgia-Pacific demolishes boiler at downtown Camas mill

Georgia-Pacific demolished a boiler at its downtown Camas mill on Feb. 19 as part of the company’s multiyear revitalization project to modernize the papermaking plant and remove unused buildings.

Contractors used a controlled fall method, which involves the cutting of key structural components of a structure to allow it to be pulled down with heavy equipment, according to a Georgia-Pacific spokesperson.

“Overall, the controlled fall of Power Boiler No. 5 was a success,” the spokesperson told The Columbian by email. “Georgia-Pacific, its contractors, and city staff carefully planned the operation to mitigate impact to the community, and it resulted in a quick execution, minimal impact to our neighbors, and swift reopening of roads.”

The project required detours on portions of Sixth and Seventh avenues, which were temporarily closed in both directions for approximately 15 minutes during windows between 9 a.m. and noon.

“This (was) carefully planned to minimize community impact,” a news release states.

Initial revitalization work — focusing on infrastructure upgrades and the removals of the boiler, bleaching and pulping buildings and a kraft mill — began in October and will last through 2027, after which the mill will “evaluate the consolidation of its footprint to align with long-term operations as technology advances allow the mill to do more with a smaller physical footprint,” a news release said.

“The removal of Power Boiler No. 5 brings us closer to our goal of revitalizing the mill, with many more steps to come over the next two years,” the spokesperson said. “We will share any potential future impacts to the community such as road closures as soon as we are able.”