Last month’s storms in British Columbia have added an extra burden to the tourism industry, which is already reeling from the impact of the pandemic and summer wildfires. And it’s not over yet – Environment Canada has issued snowfall warnings for parts of British Columbia, even as residents in some areas remain without power.
Walt Judas, CEO of the BC Tourism Association, says both hotels and ski hills saw immediate cancellations after the storms, when highways were washed out, cutting off the Lower Mainland from the Interior.
Michael Ballingall, of Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna, says about 80 percent of their bookings over the Christmas period were from Lower Mainland residents and about 30 percent have cancelled since the storms.
Rob Wilson, with BC Parks, says several Fraser Valley parks were badly damaged in the floods, including Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park, where the Othello tunnels are a popular hiking location.
He cautioned people to avoid closed parks and be cautious when accessing trail systems in the area hit by the storms.
More snow expected…
Non-essential travel has been banned on the only major highway into the Interior and a key route, the Coquihalla Highway, won’t be open until early January.
Meanwhile Environment Canada says up to 10 centimetres of snow is expected Sunday in the Fraser Canyon and visibility may be reduced, including on Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton via Allison Pass.
It’s urging travellers to keep others informed of their schedule and destination and to carry an emergency kit and phone, as weather in the mountains can change suddenly.
Environment Canada is also forecasting an additional 10 centimetres of snow for the Coquihalla Highway, with hazardous driving conditions expected from Hope to Merritt.
BC Hydro says on its website that nearly 1,000 customers on northern Vancouver Island have no power and about 300 are without electricity in the north, while fewer are experiencing outages in the Thompson Shuswap regions.
Drive BC says downed hydro lines have forced the closure of Highway 37A for three kilometres from Stewart to the Alaska border and no detour is available.