Vacation resorts in British Columbia's fire-ravaged Okanagan area are facing huge financial losses as fire crews continue to battle forest fires, which have forced staff at some operations to evacuate.
The manager of one local hotel says the evacuation orders have come at the height of the tourist season, a time when visitors are in town to play golf, go camping or take advantage of local marina facilities.
It is why shuttered destinations like the Lake Okanagan Resort, are facing losses that could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Summer is our bread and butter season,'' said Lake Okanagan manager Kelly McAree. "The August long weekend is the biggest of the year.''
But McAree has been forced to turn customers away, including a family reunion and a large wedding that was planned for this weekend.
It meant that having previously booked the resort, Tammy Harkey had to tell her daughter that she would have to find another venue for the wedding.
Like other structures in the region, the resort is built from highly flammable materials including a cedar shake roof.
As a result, the building is being closely watched by staff and fire crews. "Embers could drop into the resorts,'' said Mitch Miller an Ontario Provincial Fire Information Officer.
Insurance coverage should allow the resort to recoup the cost of replacing any buildings that are damaged by fire.
However, it will have to swallow any loss of revenue that stems from the amount of time it is forced to turn guests away.
Fire crews will be doing back burns on Terrace Mountain near Kelowna in the next few days in a bid to protect homes and structures that are in the path of the wildfires.
However, it is unlikely that the evacuation order will be lifted this weekend, CTV News has learned.
For local resorts, it means one more lost weekend at the height of the tourist season.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry
