Wildfire could come at a cost to Bamfield's tourism economy, residents say

CBC

5 days ago

Residents of the remote community of Bamfield, B.C., have been without power since Monday due to one of the largest wildfires on Vancouver Island in recent memory.
But many residents say they are more concerned about the loss of visitors than about the lack of electricity, while they wait for the danger to pass.
B.C. Hydro says it can't estimate when power will be restored to the 500 customers from Bamfield and the Ditidaht First Nation who are affected, as it remains unsafe to assess the damaged power lines while the fire continues to grow. The main road is also cut off, leaving a logging road or water routes for people and supplies to get into the community.
The 300-year-round residents of Bamfield say they are used to going without power, and many have generators keeping them going through the outage. But the Mount Underwood wildfire, which is currently more than 34 square kilometres, has come at a cost to the local tourism economy, at the peak of the season.
"Our guests left yesterday, and we've had to cancel the rest of our guests for the summer," said Mandy Ross, owner of Dragonfly Vacation Rentals.
August is traditionally the peak time for tourists, the primary drivers of the local economy. Some operators are still allowing guests to visit, although not taking new bookings, and the nearby Pachena Bay Campground has been cancelling reservations on a day-by-day basis.
Bob Beckett, the director representing Bamfield with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, says it's not uncommon for the community to have power outages, but usually they're shorter, and during the winter storm season. The community also temporarily went without internet during the first two days of the fire.
"The impact on our community, especially the lodges, the hotels, the restaurant, it's devastating," he said, adding that he plans to appeal to the province for financial assistance.
Other officials with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, including vice-chairperson Debbie Haggard, have advised anyone who is not a resident of Bamfield to leave the area.
Residents working to keep Bamfield running
Ryan McKay starts each morning now at 4:30 a.m. by filling and firing up each of his five generators, a mechanical hum that underlies life in Bamfield this week.
"Of course, that wakes everybody up," said McKay, owner of the McKay Bay Lodge. "But you know, they've got to go fishing anyway."
One of the generators was delivered on a boat on Thursday to help McKay keep some of his lodge running for the 34 guests he had that night. He says his main guests are fishermen, who arrive by boat and haven't been deterred by the impact of the wildfire.
However, McKay says if this continues beyond Labour Day, he'll have to close down early for the season. He also operates the only fuel dock in town, and has covered the change in cost due to the fire out-of-pocket to support his neighbours who rely on it to power their boats and generators.
"The prices jumped through the roof, because [the tankers] have to take a big detour," McKay said.
"But we've kept it the same, because we're not going to gouge during an emergency."
Dan Riley, captain of the MV Frances Barkley ferry that travels between Port Alberni and Bamfield, says he's been helping to take extra generators and supplies in as needed throughout the week.
"The community, they stick together," he said. "With the Frances Barkley here, we're going to do what we can to help out, too."
While people are concerned, there isn't a sense of panic in town, according to Angela Fortune, general manager of Nova Harvest oyster supplier.
"Before we had our improved road, five days to a week power outage wasn't abnormal," she said. "Right now, people are taking polls on when they think the power will be back on, and everyone's kind of preparing that this could be weeks."