A just-released report on the impact of last year鈥檚 devastating wildfires on the area鈥檚 economy paints a grim picture of the effects and makes clear that many area businesses are unaware of, or have not accessed, recovery programs designed to assist them.

The report was prepared for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District to assess the fire鈥檚 impacts and what can be done to help businesses recover.

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The report states that the estimated total loss of sales due to wildfires in the study area was more than $21 million. The estimated total lost hours of employment due to wildfires was almost 100,000 hours, resulting in a very conservative estimate of just over $1 million in lost wages. Thirty per cent of respondents indicated that they had to engage in some form of layoffs.

The estimated total direct economic loss due to wildfires to date in the study area was almost $31 million; a number that is expected to grow. Forty-two per cent of businesses anticipate further economic loss in 2018 and beyond because of the 2017 wildfires. Some businesses are estimating, based on past experience, that tourism to the area will drop by 10 to 15 per cent for up to a decade.

鈥淭he biggest surprise for all of us was the extent of the economic impact,鈥� says Debbie Sell, director of corporate services for the TNRD.

鈥淧eople started providing information about their financial losses, but we didn鈥檛 anticipate the extent until we saw the analysis.鈥�

She adds that the losses were not primarily due to businesses losing infrastructure in the fire.

鈥淭he losses came because of road closures, followed by evacuation alerts and orders.鈥�

The report found that 457 or the 492 businesses with the TNRD were impacted in some way by the 2017 wildfires. The wildfires happened during the peak season for many businesses, intensifying the financial impact.

Almost half of businesses didn鈥檛 reach out for help

鈥淎nother interesting piece was the lack of understanding among business owners about what support programs are available,鈥� continues Sell. 鈥淧rograms were being developed and made available quickly, and one immediate thing we did was communicate out a summary of all the programs we were aware of鈥� and sent them to business owners.鈥�

The report states that about 19 per cent of businesses indicated that they were aware of aid programs but had not yet applied, and 39.2 per cent of businesses indicated that they had not participated in any support programs.

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Sell says she was surprised to find that even if businesses knew about the programs available, many didn鈥檛 apply.

鈥淭hey said it wasn鈥檛 worth the effort, or that they wanted to leave [the funding] for people who needed it more than they did. Some said the amounts offered barely covered their losses.鈥� Other reasons for not applying included being unable to find funding to assist their business to recover; not meeting eligibility requirements of programs; and not having the capacity to complete the applications.

The sheer number of programs from different organizations was also identified as a factor.

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It was also suggested that a translation program or initiative to help English as a second language business owners to participate in recovery would be helpful.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a conundrum: people don鈥檛 know the programs are there, or know but say it鈥檚 not worth their time,鈥� says Sell. 鈥淭he programs aren鈥檛 being fully utilized. People should be encouraged right now to access anything available to them. That shows that whatever programs are out there are addressing a need.

Many businesses not ready for disaster

Another discovery was that many businesses were not prepared for an emergency.

鈥淧eople know what to take as individuals, but didn鈥檛 think to gather together their business documents. Business emergency planning is not being widely done.鈥�

The report identified a lack of financial support to help businesses until the next [intake] cycle begins. Loans at zero per cent interest were cited as something that would be helpful to get businesses through what is for many a slow time of year.

Interior tourism needs help, report says

A common response from businesses was that marketing efforts need to be made to bring people back in to the area.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of urgency to get a different message out as soon as possible; change the information that鈥檚 out there, and get the right information out,鈥� says Sell. 鈥淭ourism groups are seeking and receiving funding to ramp up their efforts to get that message out.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all going through this together. There鈥檚 lots of evidence that everyone is trying to support businesses. It was a big event. We don鈥檛 want to downplay it, but we don鈥檛 want people thinking that it鈥檚 not Beautiful British Columbia anymore.鈥�

editorial@accjournal.ca
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