B.C. village struggling to survive following economic impact of Jasper wildfire

Hanna Petersen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

It's a 120-kilometre thrust betwixt Valemount, B.C., and Jasper, Alta. — but concern owners in the B.C. colony accidental the ripple effects of the wildfire that devastated the Alberta town past summertime person galore of them struggling to enactment open.

A assemblage of just implicit 1,000, Valemount welcomed nearly 20,000 Jasper evacuees last July.

Most near wrong a substance of days, but parts of Highway 16 and 93 that connect Valemount with Jasper stayed closed, cutting disconnected the village's economical enactment for weeks. 

The distant community, which is astir 300 kilometres from some Prince George and Kamloops, relies heavy connected tourists travelling through northern B.C  to Jasper. 

"In the past fewer years, we've go precise babelike connected our tourism dollars coming in, and to suffer a month-and-a-half worthy of that fiscal income has been catastrophic for immoderate of the businesses," said Donna Hamilton, who owns Twin Peaks Resort, a postulation of 5 cabins and a abrogation location connected the outskirts of Valemount. 

The village, which describes itself arsenic a edifice assemblage and whose system relies heavy connected the bluish B.C. and Alberta tourism circuit, is lobbying the B.C. and national governments for $1.5 cardinal successful fiscal support, saying the assemblage fears economical collapse.  

"Our colony faces the imaginable of losing astir each our businesses and livelihoods due to the fact that we helped evacuees and past were chopped disconnected for weeks by circumstances retired of our control," said Valemount's mayor, Owen Torgerson, successful a quality release. 

In his archetypal week arsenic premier minister, Mark Carney announced a $187-million concern to repair and rebuild captious infrastructure successful Jasper National Park, including backing for campgrounds, trails and imperishable unit housing. 

Valemount says that portion it received wealth from the state to make an economical betterment strategy, the funds are not capable to screen what is needed. 

WATCH | Valemount opens its doors arsenic thousands fly Jasper: 

In an email to CBC News, Torgenson said the colony was capable to usage the backing to prosecute a consulting company, Strategies North, which surveyed 64 section businesses. It recovered that 70 per cent of the businesses indicated that, due to the fact that of the simplification successful revenue, they did not person capable resources to screen their expenses and stay viable.

It besides heard that galore businesses had been incapable to marque security claims due to the fact that they were not straight damaged by wildfires, contempt the drops successful revenue.

In its economic betterment strategy report, the steadfast estimates $1.5 cardinal is needed to enactment the village's betterment — money it says is required to assistance offset the losses experienced and support operations going until the adjacent tourism season. 

LISTEN | Torgenson speaks to consulting company's findings: 

"Until this backing is forthcoming, we are incapable to instrumentality the plan," Torgenson told CBC. "We are confident, however, that the state would not privation to discarded the wealth approved for improvement of the economical betterment strategy and Plan, by not providing the enactment needed to implement the plan."

The province, done the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, has said it is moving with the assemblage to assistance successful its betterment efforts, including by providing enactment for its betterment program and to entree existing programs and grants, but has not committed to further backing arsenic requested.

"I'm disquieted astir the full town," said Hamilton. "It's rather depressing erstwhile you spell into municipality and there's perfectly cipher there." 

Michael Lewis, the proprietor and relation of Three Ranges Brewing successful Valemount, said astir businesses trust heavy connected summertime tourism — which each but dried up aft the Jasper wildfire. 

"We marque our wealth successful the summertime and you enactment it each successful savings, and past passim the winter, your savings are however you wage your taxes and wage your staff and you support the concern open," helium said.

"It's going to beryllium a decease stroke for immoderate businesses for sure."

B.C.'s ministers of exigency management and economical development have directed the colony to use for existing assistance programs. 

However, Lewis said determination are nary circumstantial grants disposable that would assistance his businesses successful the abbreviated term.

"If your colony is devastated by the ripple effects you can't see, you get thing but benignant words," Torgenson said successful a quality release. "The B.C. government's words person to crook into enactment oregon our colony volition beryllium struggling to survive, and what connection does that nonstop to tiny communities crossed our province?" 

Hamilton said she's hopeful that tourism volition prime backmost up successful the summer, but she expects less visitors arsenic Jasper is inactive recovering and worries planetary tourists are wary of wildfire threats. 

"These businesses request an existent currency inflow because, well, we've noticed adjacent successful town, immoderate of the businesses are moving fundraisers. Some of them person radical moving for escaped to effort and prolong a business," she said. 

"I don't cognize however those radical volition past without an existent currency influx."