CALPELLA — The Calpella facility of Piedmont Lumber that built wooden trusses closed at the end of business Wednesday, but the company spokesman said the Lakeport store will remain open.
Piedmont Lumber spokesman Jim Simmons said he wasn”t sure how many people worked at the Calpella store or the Walnut Creek store, which closed March 13 when a fire destroyed the building. Umpqua Bank also filed a lawsuit March 1 against Piedmont Lumber and owners seeking closure of the stores in Lakeport, Pittsburg and Tracy, McClatchy Tribune reported.
“The reason is not difficult to gather,” Simmons said. “The economic condition was such that it was impossible to continue. Coupled with the very unfortunate fire here at the Walnut Creek retail site, it was kind of the last straw, so to speak.”
Piedmont moved the Calpella inventory to the Lakeport store, Simmons said. About 40 to 45 people work at Piedmont Lumber on South Main Street in Lakeport.
“Our plan is for it to remain open,” Simmons said. “We”re working very hard to make sure it stays that way.”
People with an interest in the company met March 18 to discuss finances and the fire, Simmons said.
The four-alarm fire on the afternoon of March 13 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 has yet to determine the cause of the fire. 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.
About 180 people worked for Piedmont Lumber about a month ago, including the closed stores in Walnut Creek and Calpella, and those still open in Pittsburg, Oakland, Tracy and Lakeport.
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.
Simmons said the dire state of the economy is the primary culprit for the Calpella store closure.
“The company has quite a lot of challenges and the good news is that Lakeport is going to stay open,” Simmons said. .
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
