Plum Creek Timber Co., Seattle, Wa., is permanently closing its Pablo, Mt., sawmill and june also shut down mills in Evergreen and Columbia Falls, Mt., due to the tepid residential construction market.

The pine board in Pablo will run at one shift until late June, unless log inventories run out earlier. In late April, Plum Creek also issued 60-day notices that the other two plants would be evaluated and either kept running or closed, either temporarily or permanently.

"It could go either way," said spokesperson Kathy Budinick. "We'll just have to look at the market and see how its doing."

Since the first of the year, Evergreen and Columbia Falls have experienced temporary shutdowns, while a sawmill in Ksanka, Mt., was permanently closed. It will be dismantled and its equipment sold-the same fate that awaits the Pablo facility if a buyer cannot be found.