Brink had managed to continue operating despite the flooding along its location on River Road, but is having trouble getting rid of its wood waste which is forcing the plant to close, company president John Brink said Wednesday.

The flooding is making it difficult for trucks to get in to empty wood waste bins.

Brink, who has been operating at the River Road location for more than three decades, said he had never seen flooding as bad as this.

He noted that his company had already been facing a two-week Christmas shutdown, and the uncertainty now around whether will be able to operate in the next week has made a poor situation even worse. "This is the last thing we needed," he said.

Brink is going down at Christmas because it relies on its raw materials from companies like Canfor, which are taking company-wide shutdowns during the same period, a reaction to poor lumber markets, a high Canadian dollar and a 15-per-cent export tax on shipments to the U.S.

Brink manufactures finger-joint lumber, a premium straight-edged product which is resawn, jointed and glued from trim ends of lumber and low grade lumber.

Brink said he is surprised how little attention the flooding was getting from city and local provincial politicians.

There are three sawmills along River Road and other light industrial businesses employing hundreds of people.

Another sawmill, Lakeland Mills, which had been down for a day and a half because of the flooding, resumed operations Wednesday morning.

Lakeland Mills president Keith Anderson was unsure how long the plant would be able to stay open, but said they were trying. Anderson said they had most of the water contained and directed to a vacant lot next to the mill.

"We're going to give it a whirl and see how it lasts -- the water is pretty deep but we should be able to get around it," he said.

A voicemail message at Winton Global Lumber, also on River Road, advised the offices were closed until further notice due to the flooding. It's unclear whether the mill is operating or shut down.

Prince George North MLA Pat Bell said he and other area Liberal MLAs have already been in contact with provincial emergency officials. He noted there are programs to help provide compensation to homeowners and small businesses.