'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
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.