A just-released report on the impact of last year乌鸦传媒檚 devastating wildfires on the area乌鸦传媒檚 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乌鸦传媒檚 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.

乌鸦传媒淭he biggest surprise for all of us was the extent of the economic impact,乌鸦传媒� says Debbie Sell, director of corporate services for the TNRD.

乌鸦传媒淧eople started providing information about their financial losses, but we didn乌鸦传媒檛 anticipate the extent until we saw the analysis.乌鸦传媒�

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

乌鸦传媒淭he losses came because of road closures, followed by evacuation alerts and orders.乌鸦传媒�

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乌鸦传媒檛 reach out for help

乌鸦传媒淎nother interesting piece was the lack of understanding among business owners about what support programs are available,乌鸦传媒� continues Sell. 乌鸦传媒淧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乌鸦传媒� and sent them to business owners.乌鸦传媒�

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乌鸦传媒檛 apply.

乌鸦传媒淭hey said it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 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.乌鸦传媒� 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.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a conundrum: people don乌鸦传媒檛 know the programs are there, or know but say it乌鸦传媒檚 not worth their time,乌鸦传媒� says Sell. 乌鸦传媒淭he programs aren乌鸦传媒檛 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.

乌鸦传媒淧eople know what to take as individuals, but didn乌鸦传媒檛 think to gather together their business documents. Business emergency planning is not being widely done.乌鸦传媒�

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.

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

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e all going through this together. There乌鸦传媒檚 lots of evidence that everyone is trying to support businesses. It was a big event. We don乌鸦传媒檛 want to downplay it, but we don乌鸦传媒檛 want people thinking that it乌鸦传媒檚 not Beautiful British Columbia anymore.乌鸦传媒�

editorial@accjournal.ca
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