The Korbel Mill, which has been for sale for almost two years and closed down last February, recently sold to the Trinity River Timber Company.

Green Diamond Resource Company, which owned the sawmill, announced the sale — which includes the fixed mill assets, a lease of the property and associated log and lumber yards and a log supply agreement with Green Diamond timberlands — in a press release today.

The mill shut down on Feb. 5, 2015 after operating off and on since 1884, putting more than 100 employees out of work. It had been in decline for years thanks to a drop in the housing market and wrong moves regarding redwood sales and distribution by Green Diamond subsidiary the California Redwood Co., Senior Vice President Neal Ewald told the Journal in 2015.

The Trinity River Timber Company will focus on Douglas fir, and President Frank Schmidbauer said the Korbel site will be a valuable complement to the company’s Weaverville mill.

The sale is “great news,” Fifth District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said in the press release. “We're glad to see reinvestment in our local timber infrastructure in Northern Humboldt County."

From the press release:

On May 16, 2016 Trinity River Timber Company reached agreement with Green Diamond Resource Company to purchase the Korbel sawmill. The sale includes all of the fixed sawmill assets and a long term lease on the mill site, including the associated log and lumber yards. The sale also includes a log supply agreement between Green Diamond and Trinity River that will provide Douglas-fir logs from Green Diamond’s timberlands to the sawmill.

"We are very pleased that we are able to complete the sale of the Korbel sawmill to Trinity River. The mill is in close proximity to our timberlands and the sale insures these logs will be manufactured into lumber at a local mill," said Green Diamond Senior Vice President Neal Ewald. Trinity River plans to focus on milling small diameter Douglas-fir logs. The Korbel mill will be Trinity River's second sawmill in Northwestern California with the other sawmill located in Weaverville. The Weaverville sawmill was destroyed by fire in September, 2009, but was rebuilt and opened in 2011.

Trinity River President Frank Schmidbauer said: "The Korbel mill is a great addition. It is located in close proximity to timber supplies, and good transportation both east and south. The Korbel operation will be complimentary to our Weaverville Sawmill and our Sawmill in Eureka, Schmidbauer Lumber Inc. The Korbel operation will be complimentary to our Weaverville Sawmill." After modifications to the existing facilities the Korbel sawmill is expected to be operational by early 2018.

Fifth district supervisor Ryan Sundberg welcomed the news. "After losing two local sawmills in the last two years, this is great news. We're glad to see reinvestment in our local timber infrastructure in Northern Humboldt County."