WALNUT CREEK — People with an interest in Piedmont Lumber met Thursday to discuss finances after a bank filed a lawsuit March 1 seeking foreclosure of the stores, including Lakeport”s, and a raging fire destroyed the Walnut Creek store Saturday.
Piedmont Lumber spokesman Jim Simmons said about 40 to 45 employees work at the Lakeport store on South Main Street. Simmons was unsure whether foreclosure could shut down the Lakeport store.
“We remain hopeful we can arrive at a good outcome but what that might be right now is subject to conversation,” Simmons said.
Umpqua Bank filed a lawsuit in Contra Costa County Superior Court on March 1 against Piedmont Lumber and co-owners William C. Myer Jr. and Victoria Myer, alleging the company is in default on nearly $15 million in loans obtained since 2007, according to McClatchy Tribune reports. The 14-count complaint seeks judicial foreclosure on Piedmont Lumber properties.
The four-alarm fire Saturday afternoon ravaged more than an acre of building and construction stock, destroyed a two-story office and damaged two adjacent ones, McClatchy Tribune reported. Investigators estimated the loss to be about $5 million.
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District completed its initial investigation at the site and said Wednesday they have yet to determine the cause of the fire.
Simmons said dozens of employees work at the Walnut Creek store but he doesn”t know what will happen to their jobs.
“Right now there”s no place to go to work and no work to be done,” Simmons said.
About 180 employees work for Piedmont Lumber, with stores in Pittsburg, Oakland, Calpella, Lakeport and the burned building in Walnut Creek.
The fire was the second at a Piedmont Lumber site in seven months, McClatchy Tribune reported. A fire erupted in the middle of the night Aug. 21 at the company”s Pittsburg facility on Piedmont Way, causing $500,000 in damages. Fire investigators believe it was the work of an arsonist, but have yet to determine who was responsible. Simmons said the Pittsburg fire damaged a shed and business continues at the store.
Anyone with information about the Walnut Creek lumberyard fire can contact the arson tip line at 866-50-ARSON.
“This is a very difficult time. We have a lot of pressure coming from many sides,” Simmons said. “The leadership team is really trying very hard to accommodate everybody”s interests.”
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
