Barkerville Thriving Despite Cariboo Fires
Barkerville Historic Town, 80 km east of Quesnel continues to have a beautiful season under mostly clear skies. After reeling from the fire closures of 2017, the August expansion of fires in the province threatened to create another downturn.
However, BC forest fires have, for the most part, avoided the region, even when smoke from remote fires was enveloping extensive areas of BC and Alberta. “We’re 80 km from the nearest air quality station, and located at 4,000 ft(1300 m) in the moist Quesnel Highlands. Our weather is distinctly different from communities like Prince George, Quesnel and Williams Lake. Given that any fires of significance are on the other side of the Fraser River, we’ve had good to great air quality, even when other communities are suffering”, said Dave Jorgenson, owner of the St. George Hotel on Barkerville’s main street. “Now that we’ve had a couple of rinse cycles, it’s even better and we think Barkerville’s the place to be right through until the end of September.”
Barkerville still has a variety of special events planned for the next few weeks including festivities on Labour Day weekend, the annual Drover’s Festival, and an in-period Murder Mystery Weekend. Nearby Wells, besides it’s roll as the arts and service center to Barkerville, also has programming through September including innovative theatre at the historic Sunset Theatre and special events and concerts at the Jack O Clubs and Bear’s Paw.
Richard Wright, of the Theatre Royal in Barkerville says, “People in the Cariboo, Vancouver, and around the province may have been discouraged by the smoke in their communities this summer. We’re encouraging them to put that aside and give themselves the holiday they deserve by visiting Barkerville and Wells for the day, or multiple days. Our unique location makes us an ideal escape for individuals and families.” With 7 high quality restaurants, a variety of accommodation options, day and night stores, pubs and entertainment, two operating theatres, Wells, and Barkerville exceed the typical expectations for a town of less than 300 people.
Barkerville, which is a provincial heritage park containing 3 national historic sites, is home to the 1862 nugget gold rush that ultimately made Canada a country from sea to sea, and Wells, once the largest city in northern BC, was the center of a hard-rock gold rush of the 1930’s which saw the town being created and blossom in the midst of the depression.
Nearby Bowron Lakes Provincial Park is also the home of an internationally reknown canoe route and the north Cariboo is a beautiful setting for the onset of fall colours in the Cariboo. Cheryl Macarthy, retail gift-shop owner in Wells says, “The Cariboo is full of some of the warmest people I know. We’re all encouraging visitors to help our summer season have a strong finish this year. The media has painted a bleak picture of BC relative to smoke and fires, and the long-lasting effects of smoke in other communities can be bad for tourism, but no highways have been threatened by fire, and here in the Barkerville area we have a unique climate, and as a business community we’re letting people know that our air is good, and our experience is exceptional.”
