Human error is not to blame for a fire that burned part of a mill in Ruskin.

The Aug. 26 fire destroyed the production shop of the Waldun Forest Products shake and shingle mill, putting 60 people temporarily out of work.

A main electrical box, which was not due for inspection until October, has been deemed the cause of the fire, according to the mill's vice-president Kirk Nagy.

"This piece of electrical equipment gets X-rayed annually, and wasn't due again until October. Everyone tries to do everything right, so it was a relief to hear that it wasn't human error," he said.

Some of the displaced employees will return to work at a nearby mill that the company has leased.

"The plan is to lease a small mill and hopefully that will start up in the second or third week of September," Nagy said.

Cleanup will begin next week and the company is currently pursuing cleanup and rebuilding quotes.

In the second incident, which happened Aug. 23, two homes at the corner of 113th Avenue and 223rd Street were levelled and left seven people homeless.

An investigation into the cause of that fire was concluded by the fire department, however the cause is still under investigation by police.

"Part of the investigation has been turned over to the RCMP. But just because the RCMP are involved doesn't necessarily mean there was any criminal activity - it just means we need some clarification," said assistant fire chief Howard Exner.

A number of pets were lost in the house fires, and some cats have not yet been located, explained Exner. "Word on the street is that we recovered animals, but we did not."

"Ridge Meadows RCMP continue to work closely with the Maple Ridge fire department to determine the origin of the fire that destroyed the two homes, and if this was a criminal act or not," said Ridge Meadows RCMP Supt. Dave Walsh.

"If it is found to be a deliberately set fire, police will continue to seek out the person, or persons responsible," he added.

Exner requested anyone with footage of the fire from prior to the fire department's arrival, forward it to the department at hexner@mapleridge.ca.

smclaren@mrtimes.com