Members of community hit hard by wildfires in BC to return home
Posted Jul 18, 2017 04:54:54 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Residents of Cache Creek, B-C, are thrilled to be heading home today after being rushed out by a fast-moving wildfire, but fear an uphill battle in repairing the community’s tourism economy.
Sunset Motel manager Lisa Balouch says the loss of eleven days of visitors is significant, not only to hotels but also to restaurants, gas stations and other businesses.
She says businesses lost significant revenue after being evacuated July 7th and now they have to spend money on cleanup.
More than 40-thousand people remain out of their homes as 155 wildfires burn across the province.
Cache Creek has a population of about one-thousand and was the first major community to be evacuated after the wildfires broke out.
Mayor John Ranta says two airport hangars, one house and a few buildings have been destroyed.
He says businesses depend on tourism in the summer season in order to generate enough revenue to stay open the rest of the year.
Ranta says he’s hopeful that the rest of British Columbia and Canada will be able to visit the community in short order.
