'Deeply concerned': Tofino tourism industry hard hit by wildfire closure
Tourism operators in Tofino are feeling the affects of the closure of Highway 4, the only paved road connecting the Vancouver Islands' west coast with the rest of B.C., due to a wildfire.
On Tuesday afternoon, the province said it did not expect to reopen Highway 4 until at least the weekend of June 24 and 25, about three weeks after the highway initially closed on June 6.
Brad Parsell, executive director of Tourism Tofino, says the community is grateful for all the efforts underway to fight the Cameron Bluffs wildfire, which has closed the highway about 20 kilometres east of Port Alberni.
The timeline for when the highway will reopen, however, was difficult to hear for tourism operators in the town.
"We were hoping to hear a much more expedited reopening of that route to the west coast," said Parsell.
"This is going to have an even larger impact than we had initially feared for businesses here on the west coast. But we certainly can appreciate that this is an evolving situation," he said
Since the highway closed a week ago, Parsell says some businesses have already felt a "significant loss."
"We're looking at hotels who have lost between 50 to almost approaching 100 per cent of their business over a matter of days," he said. "The loss of revenue has been felt across the board for our businesses."
Parsell says the economic hit means some operators have also cut hours for workers, which is having an impact on the town's workforce.
"Seasonal workers don't qualify for [employment insurance] for various reasons, so all of a sudden we're deeply concerned about our workforce in the tourism industry," he said.
CALLS FOR SUPPORT
Parsell says people can support Tofino by not cancelling their bookings and instead rescheduling them or collecting a voucher.
Buying gift certificates or future bookings will also help operators keep the lights on, he says.
Local airlines have also increased the number of flights they're providing, Parsell says, providing people with alternate means of reaching the community.
A detour route has been set up around the Highway 4 closure, though the province has urged people to only use it for essential travel purposes.
The detour route uses logging roads and takes approximately four hours to complete, stretching across 90 kilometres between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni.
Last week, couple Sebastien Foellmer and Hope Moir said they were still committed to having their weding in Tofino, and most of their guests – more than 70 – promised to take the logging roads to get there.
The couple provided their guests with a list of what to bring to make the trek, including water, spare tires, extra gas, and more, but understood if people didn't feel comfortable making the journey.
The province says approximately 550 to 1,000 vehicles are using the detour route every day, about 20 per cent of which are commercial vehicles.
Parsell says it was heartening to see those commercial vehicles arrive, and that they were a reminder that people on the West Coast do not need to panic buy with essential supplies still arriving in the community.
If the province's timeline holds, Highway 4 will reopen to single lane alternating traffic in late June, before completely reopening to two way traffic in mid-July.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
'Documents are fraudulent': Graceland is not for sale, Elvis Presley's granddaughter says in lawsuit
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
Independent stores and grocery alternatives see sales boost amid Loblaw boycott
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.