Close X
Sunday, October 6, 2024
ADVT 
National

Burgers run out, hotels heave, as wildfire evacuees swell a B.C. town

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 May, 2024 02:11 PM
  • Burgers run out, hotels heave, as wildfire evacuees swell a B.C. town

The Denny's restaurant in Fort St. John, B.C., ran out of burgers on Tuesday, a waiter said.

Hotels have been filled with new guests, some turning up without identification or money, according to one manager. Fort St. John businesses have been doing their best to welcome the influx, offering free movie nights — popcorn included — and discount burritos.

The community in northeastern B.C. is heaving with evacuees from Fort Nelson, a further 380 kilometres north, since residents were ordered to get out Friday in the face of a fast-growing wildfire.

Rob Fraser, the mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, which includes Fort Nelson, pleaded for patience from evacuees as they settled in.

In a video posted to Facebook this week, he said Fort St. John had to absorb the "shock" of about 3,500 people dropping "into a community of 25,000."

Evacuees packed the parking lot of the North Peace Arena Wednesday after a meeting to explain their situation, many leaving with maps in their hands showing the fires' locations, spreading out to hotels that have had to absorb thousands of unexpected guests. 

Fraser said the fires burning near their community leave the future in the short-term "up in the air," and there is no solid timeline for when residents can return. 

"We don't want to be in that situation where we turn people back to the community and three days later we just send them out again," he said. "That would be just a nightmare." 

For Fort St. John businesses, the impact of the influx was almost immediate. 

Jalen Etter, 18, a waiter at the Denny's attached to a hotel where many evacuees were staying, said the restaurant did its highest sales ever on Saturday as the evacuees rolled into town.

Etter said that his supervisor had told him before his shift that day to "just be prepared." 

"I'm like, 'well it can't be too bad.' I was wrong," he said on Wednesday. "People kept on coming in." 

The influx meant the restaurant ran out of a lot of stock on Tuesday, he said. 

"We had no steaks. We couldn't serve burgers, no soup, salad, fish and chips, no milkshakes, any of that stuff," he said. 

Hotel manager Zeny Patel at the Howard Johnson in Fort St. John said there was a change of ownership a month ago, and staff were still working on a deep clean and computer system transition when unhappy evacuees started showing up. 

Patel said many didn't have money, identification or proper luggage, and the hotel, and many others in town, were full of evacuees.

She said the government supports for evacuees were helping, but it was still a "stressful" situation to be in. 

"We have to deal with their emotions, so we are supporting them as much as we can," she said. "Guests are our priority right now."

Some businesses have been rolling out the welcome mat for the evacuees. 

Local cinema The Lido has been hosting free movie nights for them, including popcorn and drinks, sponsored by a pair of local energy companies. BarBurrito has been offering discounts for evacuees.

After the meeting Wednesday, Fraser said officials were able to answer peoples' questions, but residents were "anxious about coming back to the community.

 "I feel we've allayed some of their fears," he said. 

He told evacuees that it was by "the grace of God" that the Parker Lake wildfire, fanned by winds of 70 kilometres per hour, didn't sweep through the community of about 4,700 residents last Friday.

The BC Wildfire Service says the blaze about two kilometres west of the town now spans 127 square kilometres, up from 84 square kilometres earlier this week, but it has spread away from the town along its southern flank.

An update from the service on Thursday says winds over the fire were expected to shift, pushing smoke back into the area and challenging aerial firefighting efforts.

But it says a low-pressure system with cooler temperatures and higher humidity led to decreased fire activity on Wednesday, allowing crews to work closely along the fire's edge and make progress on "direct attack objectives."

An update posted to the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality website Thursday says the weather has been favourable for crews working to fight the blaze and protect the town. But it says "extreme drought conditions" and rapidly changing variables mean the situation is still "precarious."

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Environment Canada issues dust advisory for central and northern B.C.

Environment Canada issues dust advisory for central and northern B.C.
Environment Canada has added a dust advisories for a large section of central and northern British Columbia in response to "high concentrations of coarse particulate matter" that it says is most prominent near busy roads. The new advisories are up for the regions of Prince George, the Lakes District and Bulkley Valley, covering Smithers, Prince George, Vanderhoof and Houston.

Environment Canada issues dust advisory for central and northern B.C.

First airlift for Canadians fleeing Haiti is complete after weather delay

First airlift for Canadians fleeing Haiti is complete after weather delay
A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says 18 Canadians were brought out of Haiti by helicopter this morning. On Monday, Joly had said the 18 had already left, but Global Affairs Canada has clarified that their departure was put off due to bad weather.

First airlift for Canadians fleeing Haiti is complete after weather delay

Canadian bridges are safe, officials say after U.S. bridge rammed by ship, collapses

Canadian bridges are safe, officials say after U.S. bridge rammed by ship, collapses
Canadian authorities are trying to reassure the public about the safety of bridges in the country following the collapse of a bridge in Baltimore, Md., early this morning after it was rammed by a container ship.

Canadian bridges are safe, officials say after U.S. bridge rammed by ship, collapses

King George SkyTrain Station to remain closed for 6 weeks as of April

King George SkyTrain Station to remain closed for 6 weeks as of April
TransLink says the King George SkyTrain Station will be closed for approximately six weeks starting next month. A statement says the closure starting April 27th will allow essential maintenance work to happen and the Expo Line in Surrey will temporarily end at Surrey Central Station.

King George SkyTrain Station to remain closed for 6 weeks as of April

Child dies in fall through ice

Child dies in fall through ice
Mounties in Williams Lake, B.C., say a child has died in a plunge through the ice on Tyee Lake, in the province's Cariboo region. Police say it happened Saturday when the utility task vehicle the child was riding on went through the ice.

Child dies in fall through ice

B.C. to spend $24 million on community walking and cycling projects

B.C. to spend $24 million on community walking and cycling projects
The British Columbia government is handing out $24 million to more communities that want to improve their walking and cycling infrastructure. The Active Transportation Infrastructure Grants program is part of a cost-sharing agreement with Indigenous, local and regional governments that provides up to $500,000 for infrastructure projects, and up to $50,000 to develop the active network plans. 

B.C. to spend $24 million on community walking and cycling projects