Travel ban in parts of B.C. disrupting tourism as raging wildfires burn

KELOWNA, B.C. –

The central Okanagan is dealing with weeks with out tourism throughout its peak season after British Columbia’s premier imposed bans on journey to wildfire zones.

David Eby says the choice was made to make sure lodging is out there for crews and the 30,000 individuals who had been pressured from their properties throughout B.C.

The order, which was launched Saturday underneath the provincial state of emergency, will probably be in place till Sept. 4 for lodges, motels, inns, mattress and breakfasts, hostels, RV parks and campgrounds in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Vernon.

The province says the journey ban doesn’t influence different areas, however is asking folks to keep away from non-essential journey to the central Interior and southeast to maintain roads clear for emergency-response operations and different potential evacuations.

The Kelowna International Airport has additionally been cancelling flights since Friday to make sure aerial firefighting efforts go uninterrupted.

Nearby wildfires have pressured the evacuation of 1000’s within the metropolis, which has pressured watercraft rental companies to closed their doorways, leaving boats and jet skis sitting idle, bobbing on the water.

Realtor Raymun Khunkhun, who has lived in Kelowna for about three many years, stated the ban has left streets normally teeming with guests eerily naked.

“There’s not a lot of people walking around or anything, it’s almost like a ghost town now out here,” he stated in an interview Saturday.

“These streets are usually packed, like it’s hard single-file walking when you’re on the sidewalks, and now it’s almost a little scary in a sense that it’s just empty.”

But, he stated there’s not a lot that may be completed now aside from “pray for better days.”

“Hopefully this doesn’t turn into anything worse than it already is.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Aug. 20, 2023.