Telegraph Cove, B.C., fire takes out beloved businesses, parts of boardwalk

The most iconic portion of a picturesque boardwalk in Telegraph Cove, B.C. was destroyed by fire on Tuesday morning.

Several buildings in the northern Vancouver Island tourist destination appear to be a complete loss. The whale museum is no longer standing, nor is a complex that housed several businesses, including the Old Saltery Pub.

“Those were the treasures, those things at the end of the dock,” said David Summers, Mount Waddington regional director for Telegraph Cove.

“This whole thing is a major tragedy.”

Firefighters were called to the coastal community around 5:30 a.m. They had the flames under control around 11 a.m. and continued to snuff out hot spots throughout the afternoon.

Early in the day, the fire department from the nearby town of Port McNeill posted a photo of the flames on Facebook and asked people to stay away from the area.

"People going down to watch is hindering our crew’s effort to extinguish,” the post from Port McNeill Fire Rescue reads.

Firefighters from three other departments – Port Hardy Fire Rescue, Hyde Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Alert Bay Fire Department – also responded to the scene, Port McNeill firefighters said in an update around 9:15 a.m.

A firefighter battles a blaze in Telegraph Cover, B.C. (Image credit: Alert Bay Fire Department)

“They came from all over the North Island and they did a heck of a job to save the rest of the boardwalk,” Summers said.

The Port McNeill department said the fire burned under the boardwalk, making it difficult to extinguish.

"This is a devastating loss to the North Island," the department said in its update.

Formerly a cannery and fishing village, Telegraph Cove has been a popular tourist destination for many years. The permanent population of the village and surrounding electoral area was 371 people as of the 2021 census, according to Statistics Canada.

Summers said he plans to ask the provincial and federal governments to help rebuild what’s been lost.

“This is an international destination, so I would like to think all levels of government would rise to help them rebuild that,” he said.

“Everything on the North Island is beautiful, but it was our treasure.”