Stephen King Posts Odd Tweet on Paper Mill Blast

It was 'a TOILET paper mill,' he wrote, though some say that's not true and slammed him for his 'joke'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 16, 2020 8:36 AM CDT

A bit of horror for Stephen King: A massive explosion on Wednesday destroyed a building at a paper mill in Maine near the writer's home in Lovell. No injuries were reported in the blast at the Androscoggin Mill, but King had other concerns, Fox News reports. "A paper mill blew up in Jay, Maine today, not too far down the road from us," he tweeted. "A TOILET paper mill. So keep a stack of magazines and advertising circulars handy." Multiple outlets note, however, that it's not clear if the mill actually makes toilet paper, as King suggested. Some observers even think he may have been joking, and they're not happy about it.

"Explosions aren't a joke," one person posted on Twitter. "Jay is my hometown and the whole town was sick to their stomachs for hours because so many of our friends and family are employees there. This isn't funny." Around 175 of the mill's 500 employees were on site at the time, but the mill says nobody was hurt in the blast, which sent a huge plume of smoke in the air and rained debris on vehicles. The AP notes some workers did experience respiratory distress, however. The cause of the blast wasn't immediately clear; an investigation begins Thursday. "I just want to say, if ever there was a day when we should believe in miracles, today is it," said Gov. Janet Mills. (More Maine stories.)

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