Barkerville and Wells are back to business as usual following their July evacuation due to the Antler Creek fire.
The streets of Barkerville were alive with the interpreters of the historic site wandering the streets along with visitors and giving performances on Saturday, Aug. 3. The famous bakery was selling bread and cookies, the horse-drawn carriage was marching down the road and the shops were open to visitors. That included the A. McPherson Watchmaker and Jeweller where Julia McKibbon works.
"I was lucky enough that I was able to go home because I (am) somebody that's just here for work," McKibbon said. "They got us out of the park earlier than they needed to because they were being careful."
McKibbon said she felt extremely relieved once the order was lifted and she could return to Barkerville for work. She's from B.C.'s Interior so while she didn't have to evacuate her permanent home, she did have to leave Barkerville and where she was staying in Wells.
"People in Quesnel took really good care of us," she said. "We had people asking if we needed anything. Like we had a couple teenage boys when we were leaving (the emergency services support centre) stop on their bikes and say 'do you folks need anything?' It was a really, really cool mentality to just see folks coming together."
Barkerville reopened Aug. 2 once the evacuation order and evacuation alert was cleared for the region. Skies were clear with only a faint smell of smoke in the historic town B.C. Day Weekend and people were going to the bakery to get their fill of doughnuts and bread. The Kwong Sang Wing Gift Shop was bustling with Bubba the cat getting lots of love from visitors while stretched out by the shop's doors. People rode on the horse-drawn carriage and watched the blacksmith forge items while exploring the park's shops and museums. At the home of the Cariboo Sentinel people watched demonstrations of how newspapers used to be printed and could buy postcards printed in house depicting the historic townsite.
While the fire is still considered out of control, BC Wildfire Service crews are working prevent its spread and extinguish it. The Antler Creek fire, discovered July 20 has grown to 14,277 hectares with crews focusing on preventing growth towards Barkerville and Wells. It is no longer a wildfire of note.
Dave Jorgenson owns Frog on the Bog in Wells and said the evacuation will have a lasting impact on the town.
"The evacuation has not been as stressful to me as returning afterwards. Just because you can see how little summer we have left," Jorgenson said. He also owns several vacation properties that were impacted by the evacuation. "We've had cancellations all the way through the entire month of August." He said people panicked because of the fire and the cancellations will continue to be felt.
The annual ArtsWells festival was supposed to have it's big in-person return since the pandemic this year but had to delay it due to the evacuation. A date has not been set for the festival's eventual return.
"I'm often happy and surprised by the number of people who get that communities need support afterwards," Jorgenson said. "It's a long, uphill battle. Not only are you economically impacted by the moment of the evacuation but then it stretches into your future."
With the evacuation order and alert lifted, Wells, Barkerville and the Bowron Lake area are open to the public. There is still occasionally smoke in the skies but if the fire becomes a threat for the tourist destinations again, alerts and orders will be put back in place.
