Jasper businesses face complicated recovery in tourism community

At the peak of the summer tourism season, the Jasper townsite is empty.

A dangerously fast-moving wildfire forced 25,000 residents, visitors and seasonal workers to flee the community inside one of Canada's best-known national parks last week, leaving local businesses in the tourist town facing an uncertain road to recovery.

Before last week's fire, Candace Broughton operated Jasper Motorcycle Tours out of 610 Patricia Street — one of the buildings confirmed to be damaged in the blaze.

Broughton told Cross Country Checkup host Ian Hanomansing on Sunday that she's not sure how she'll be able to restart.

"It's really tough because the gist of the business is touring the national park to see all of our beautiful sights and valleys and waterfalls, and a lot of it is burned. I really don't think people will want to go on a motorcycle tour to see the wreckage," she said.

"After four years of COVID and trying to rebuild — and we just got back to where we were — to have to do it again, it's heart-wrenching."

The fire remains out of control in the national park, and a safe return to Jasper is still likely weeks away.

But even for businesses that weren't among the hundreds of buildings destroyed by flames, owners of hotels, restaurants and sightseeing companies are bracing for a financial hit that lasts well beyond the evacuation.

About a block away from Broughton's tour business, the Jasper Pizza Place is still standing, according to the official list of damaged properties. The restaurant is just north of Miette Avenue, where firefighters were able to hold off the worst of the destruction.

Owner Stavro Korogonas is among the business owners still waiting for details on possible internal damage to his property. But he said he's worried about the long-lasting financial and emotional impact on the whole community.

"Once the evacuation order is lifted, does my insurance continue to cover me, or do we have to get back to work? Because we're happy to do it, but it's not going to be the same," Korogonas said.

"September and October are massive for the tourism industry … and if I'm back in 30 days, I don't expect my sales to be anywhere near what we were forecasting."

In 2022, the Chetamon Mountain fire in Jasper National Park damaged electricity infrastructure, causing days of intermittent blackouts in town and prompting officials to ask tourists to stay away for a while.

That fire never got close enough to town to warrant an evacuation. But Korogonas said businesses were functionally shut down anyway, and he had to temporarily lay off employees.

He said he and many others thought they'd be able to rely on their business interruption insurance, only to find out the fire didn't get close enough to Jasper for the coverage to kick in.

"I didn't know that when I was purchasing, or my broker was giving me the insurance. I thought if our business is interrupted, we'd be protected. That's not actually the case," Korogonas said.

Fire damage costs still being analyzed

A new report from credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS says potential insured losses from the Jasper fire could match or exceed the cost of the 2011 Slave Lake fire, which topped $700 million.

Victor Adesanya, the company vice-president of global insurance and pension ratings, says business interruption insurance claims, which can help mitigate revenue losses during circumstances when businesses can't open, will be a major factor in the tourist community.

Rob de Pruis, the Insurance Bureau of Canada's national director of consumer and industry relations, said coverage always depends on the individual policy, and residents and business owners should get in touch with their provider for answers.

"There's a lot of businesses and retail operations that are specifically in Jasper that are different than many other communities throughout the province," he said.

"This will be a very significant event, and we are expecting a very significant insurance payout for all of the damages that will be happening."

Katrina Turcot owns and operates Jasper Raft Tours with her husband. The couple took over the business just two years ago, and are now preparing for the possibility of going back to square one.

Turcot said that the launch site, along with many of their supplies and rafts, was lost to the fire. The business location in town is listed as having no visible damage, but immediately across the street, buildings were burned to the ground.

Turcot is now trying to navigate the insurance process and the prospect of dealing with more than $1 million in business loans without a source of income.

"Unless you've been through this, you have no idea where to even start with this. It's insanely overwhelming," she said.

"I'm worried about everything. I mean, I'm born and raised in Jasper. Jasper is part of me. I love that town and everyone in it."