PRAIRIE CITY, Ore. — Prairie Wood Products received some much-needed positive news over the weekend. After the recent announcement of local mill closures, Prairie Wood Products mill in Prairie City, Oregon, is scheduled to reopen sometime in September.

Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher said that the mill is planning to reopen, and that information was confirmed on August 24th by Prairie Wood Products CFO Trent Middlebrooks.

The company is actively working with the US Forest Service to move forward. The mill has been shut down since March 1st due to timber hauling contract complications with the Forest Service.

Middlebrooks wasn’t sure on an exact date the mill would reopen in September and said they would likely be starting operations on a limited basis.

Grant County’s economy heavily relies on forest products and natural resources. Following the closure announcement of the last remaining sawmill in John Day earlier this summer, the news of the Prairie City sawmill’s reopening comes as a relief to many within the community.