By Steve Hubrecht
The record cold snap that sent the Columbia Valley (and much of the rest of B.C. and western North America) into a deep freeze last week also put a chill, if only a temporary one, on the local economy.
The super frosty conditions – the result of a polar vortex — began late on Thursday, Jan. 11 and continued through the weekend and into early last week. Temperatures were in the minus 30s (degrees Celsius), with wind chill factors making it feel even colder than -40 C. By Tuesday, Jan. 16 things were significantly warmer, yet still plenty cold with temperatures in the low minus 20s early in the mornings and at night. Things stayed the same for the rest of the week.
It was so cold in fact that both Panorama Mountain Resort and Fairmont Hot Springs Resort ski hill shut down outdoor operations for two full days, with both hills closed on Friday, Jan. 12 and Saturday, Jan. 13. Safety of visitors and staff was the reason cited for the closures. Similar closures were in effect at multiple ski resorts around B.C., including nearby Kicking Horse Resort in Golden.
Columbia Valley residents dealt with the Arctic-like climate by staying indoors as much as possible as did visitors, taking a bite out of the valley’s winter tourism business.
“It certainly did have an economic impact,” said Invermere Mayor Al Miller. “People were hunkering down in their homes. I don’t blame them. It was really cold, in fact downright nasty out there . . . the streets of downtown were quite bare when I checked.”
Miller said several locals reported a noticeable decrease in traffic flow in Invermere during the polar vortex and he noted that traffic flow is often a major indicator of how retail businesses fare.
Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce executive director Pete Bourke agreed there had been an economic impact, pointing to the closing of the ski resorts, which is an impact in and of itself, and adding that “what I have heard anecdotally is that there’s been a drop off in the new year, when school started again in terms of people out shopping at and supporting local business. That happens every year, but this year it’s a little bit more than normal. So the cold snap definitely didn’t help that.”
Aside from the economic impact, Miller was impressed with how local residents held up psychologically and emotionally during the extreme conditions. He was also happy that District of Invermere staff were able to balance clearing roads and sidewalks with staying safe themselves.
“Overall we weathered it very well,” said Miller.
Those sentiments were echoed by Columbia River Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovechok.
“Obviously the cold snap has not been that welcome,” he told the Pioneer. “But people have done a great job coping, especially with trying to conserve power and not overload the grid.”
Clovechok noted that aside from the extreme temperatures, this winter has been much cloudier than normal.
“But people in the Columbia Valley are resilient and take it (both the clouds and the cold) as it comes . . . at the end of the day we are Canadian, and this can happen in winter,” he said.
