The 2023 wildfire at Cameron Lake cut off Port Alberni and points west from the rest of the world for several weeks. It was summer 2023, the start of another lucrative tourist season, when a fire started on a mountain top high above Cameron Lake, about 22 kilometers east of Port Alberni.
It wasn’t long before wind drove the fire down the bluff, dropping debris onto the busy Highway 4 where it skirts along Cameron Lake. The highway was closed for two full weeks, cutting travel routes for locals, tourists, supply chains and more. Prolonged delays continued on the highway through the summer.
A network of industrial logging roads between Lake Cowichan, Nitinaht and Port Alberni was quickly prepared as an alternate route. But the narrow, dusty, winding dirt road was not only scary for many, it added several hours to the travel time between island cities.
According to a report prepared by the Alberni-Clayoquot Chambers of Commerce, the disruption to travel that the wildfire caused not only impacted tourism businesses in Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet, but also disrupted supply chains including fuel and groceries.
The Highway 4 Disruption and Resiliency report indicates that an estimated $61 million in revenues was lost between the three cut-off western communities that summer.
Even though the highway was opened for short periods in the ensuing weeks, the disruptions remained in effect into early September 2023.
Besides the loss in revenues, the closure also meant increased costs for locals and disruptions to important services like health care, as hospital workers sometimes had to be flown in. For business owners, the losses came immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, creating more anxiety and stress.
The chambers suggested solutions to address extended road closures in the future. Topping the list is the construction of critical infrastructure like an alternative land route to the west coast.
Would that mean paving and improving the logging roads around Cowichan Lake to Nitinaht and Port Alberni? Nitinaht residents hope so. In a news release dated March 23, Chief Councillor Judi Thomas said the Ditidaht First Nation urges immediate action to address unsafe road conditions.
For decades, Nitinaht residents have had to contend with regular flooding of the only road into their community. In recent times, large holes have been opening up in the logging roads near the village, making it unsafe for travelers.
“The Ditidaht First Nation is calling on the provincial and local governments to urgently address unsafe road conditions and to take immediate steps toward developing a reliable secondary access route through Ditidaht Traditional Territory,” Chief Thomas wrote.
The Ditidaht statement came as a result of the worsening conditions that closed the road to Nitinaht Lake on March 20, as well as the release of the Alberni Clayoquot Chamber of Commerce - Highway 4 Disruption and Resiliency Solutions Report.
Citing a recent incident that closed the road to Nitinaht, Thomas wrote, “access to Nitinaht Lake was cut off once again – this time due to the rapid deterioration of gravel road conditions at a bridge at Red Rock, immediately outside the community. This incident highlights the chronic vulnerability faced by Ditidaht members and travelers who rely on a single, deteriorating access road.”
“We cannot wait for another disaster to act. The solution is clear – and the province has already made a commitment,” she stated.
In Ditidaht’s 2019 Agreement-in-Principle, part of ongoing treaty negotiations with the provincial and federal governments, the Province of British Columbia acknowledged the need for improved road access to Nitinaht Lake.
“(The province) committed to reclassifying temporary permit roads currently managed by timber licensees as Forest Service Roads,” Thomas stated in March.
The move would place the responsibility of road maintenance on the province. Thomas demands that the process needs to start now.
“This is about safety and economic resilience. Reliable infrastructure is not a luxury – it’s essential,” stressed the chief councillor.
Thomas stated that their treaty negotiations have stalled because the province has failed to adequately staff and resource the table. She continues to raise concerns about these shortcomings at leadership meetings and with elected officials.
The Chambers of Commerce report identified a need for local businesses and government to prepare for future travel disruption - not only with alternate routes but to also find ways to improve communication with the public via social media platforms. They suggest diversifying business models to reduce the seasonality of the tourism economy.
They also identified the need to develop long and short-term recovery funding by identifying new and potential funding sources, such as tourism funds for disruption responses, emergency financial assistance from the province,and insurance solutions.
For the proposed solutions to be carried out, the Alberni-Clayoquot Chambers of Commerce is asking that their report be shared broadly “in order to develop the momentum and commitment required to implement actions that ensure the region is better prepared to handle future disruptions.”
