Kelowna tourism operator fled 2 wildfires in 8 years. He now fears for future of business

In 2016, Jason Lloyd was among 80,000 people that had to flee Fort McMurray, Alta., due to the destructive Horse River wildfire.

He and his wife Carolina temporarily found shelter in Vernon, B.C. which he said "opened up our eyes to the lovely, beautiful Okanagan" as he came to terms with the historic fire in Alberta.

In the subsequent years, as the price of Alberta crude oil took a downturn, Lloyd was laid off from his job at an oil company. He returned to the Okanagan to open a tourism business, a party boat rental operation called Tiki Time Tours in Kelowna.

Now, Lloyd and his family have had to flee their second destructive wildfire in eight years.

Even as he was leaving, he had to deal with the phone ringing off the hook as customers requested refunds amid tourism restrictions due to a state of emergency.

"The bulk of all of our earnings, 80 per cent of our revenue, comes from two months, July and August," he said. "Losing half a month or even a week is detrimental to us."

Lloyd is among a number of tourism operators who say this wildfire season has hit them hard especially after years of pandemic-related closures caused a business downturn and led to some operators taking out emergency loans.

WATCH | Popular kangaroo tourist attraction closes in Kelowna due to wildfires:

Kelowna kangaroo farm closes doors amid provincial state of emergency

1 year ago

Duration 1:53

A popular tourist attraction in Kelowna has been shut down since last Friday. The Kangaroo Creek Farm is home to over 100 aminals, primarily kangaroos. It voluntarily closed its doors due to the risk of fire in the area, taking a hit during its peak season. CBC News spoke with Caroline MacPherson, the facilities' director, about how they are managing during these trying times.

"I want to make sure people like ourselves are not forgotten aboutso that there's some kind of government assistance that comes through [after] the dust settles a little bit," he said.

Lloyd and six of his extended family members are huddled in the same hotel room in Kelowna, waiting to hear if their home was damaged due to the McDougall Creek wildfire.

"One thing we've learned from the Fort McMurray fires is, 'what you have around you is home,'" he said on Monday. "My wife had the conversation with my seven-year-old daughter this morning in the hotel room.

"'Honey, where's home? Your home is where family is.' So right now, it's in this hotel room and that's where home is."

Operator asks for loan forgiveness

The province's travel orders do not allow those seeking temporary accommodation in the southern Interior for a non-essential purpose to get hotel rooms.

While the order is limited to certain communities in the Interior Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Vernon it is having a ripple effect on communities throughout the region.

Kevin Klippenstein, who runs theagritourism business Klippers Organic in the community of Cawston west of Oliver, says he's had to deal with numerous cancellation requests over the weekend as the province's travel restrictions came into place.

Even though his business which includes a restaurant and guest suites isn't directly covered by the travel restrictions, he says he's on the verge of laying off staff.

Klippenstein says he understands the province put in the order for a reason, but tourism businesses are already struggling to pay off Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans taken out during the height of the pandemic.

"That CEBA loan, extend it for another year," he said. "Make it so that we don't have to pay it this year."

Lisanne Ballantyne, the CEO of Tourism Kelowna, said in a statement Sunday that the province's ban will affect the tourism sector, but the current focus remains on the wildfire response effort.

"When able, we will move forward to recovery planning," she said. "We have faced challenging situations before, and while none are the same, we will work through this together, rebuild and also focus on long-term resiliency."

At a news conference on Monday, B.C. Premier David Eby said that wildfire conditions had improved in the southeast corner of B.C., so tourists can travel there but he urged anyone heading there to recreate responsibly and be aware of shifting winds.

He said the tourism sector was facing "significant impacts" but did not provide specifics on what support would be provided.