PORT ANGELES – The Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce is holding a special job fair to help soon-to-be-laid-off workers from the McKinley Mill in Port Angeles.

Chamber Executive Director Marc Abshire says the fair will be Friday, July 19, from 2-4 p.m. at the Vern Burton Center.

“We usually do it twice a year March and October and just because of the shutdown we decided it all we got to do a summer pop up really quick because there’s a lot of jobs out there that rain there’s hundreds of jobs” said Abshire. “If you go to North Coast Hot Jobs, there’s hundreds of jobs listed in Clallam County. We have employers already signing up right now to be there and they’re excited to be there because they need to fill their positions as well.”

A total of 193 employees are being laid off as the mill shuts down operations at the plant at the foot of Ediz Hook. Abshire says the goal is to help these affected families find new jobs, at least temporarily, to keep paying the bills.

“Of course, it isn’t going to be a great fit for all 193, but our goal is to try to get these folks placed into their next opportunity locally, at least until they can figure out their next move just to keep the income going,” said Abshire.

Abshire added this particular shut down is hitting the community particularly hard.

“We kind of are getting hung out as a community for them to announce like that and just basically pull up and go. It’s pretty devastating on a small community like ours because it goes beyond the 193. There are a lot of Herman Brothers (Trucking) jobs and so many other related indirect jobs that are going to be impacted too,” said Abshire.

Meanwhile, other local agencies, including the local WorkSource office and Peninsula College, are ramping up their efforts to help with long-term retraining and re-employment initiatives.