The Tough Road to Rebuilding a Business After a Fire

When Kelly Mitchell bought La Punta Norte Guest Inn in 2021, she and her husband thought it might be their retirement property. Even as the Bald Range wildfire approached, they kept the inn running right up until they evacuated all their guests on the night of Aug. 14.

Within hours, the wildfire destroyed the Mexican-inspired inn on the west side of Okanagan Lake.

“It was gut-wrenching,” she said. “It looked like somebody dropped a bomb on it.”

Mitchell is still in disbelief. She said the disaster has thrown her future plans into disarray and she’s not sure what the path ahead will look like.

“I was kind of blank, to be honest with you,” Mitchell said. “It's so shocking what happened, and we just weren't expecting it.”

Now, she’s considering rebuilding — a challenge that’s becoming increasingly common as wildfires grow more intense and frequent. According to BC Assessment’s latest assessment, the buildings on Mitchell’s property are valued at about $2.7 million.

With the loss of the inn, Mitchell joins dozens of other British Columbians who have lost their businesses, jobs and livelihoods to extreme weather over the past decade.

Rob de Pruis, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s national director, consumer and industry relations, said small businesses are often insured for less than the cost of rebuilding and restarting their business.

Bernie Fandrich, president of the Lytton chamber of commerce, said that even with the needed money, getting shovels in the ground to replace small businesses can take years.

Five years after a wildfire destroyed most of the village’s structures — including a museum, part of his rafting company’s facility, the local grocery store and three hotels — only one business has reopened.

“We’re going to rebuild,” he said. “Hopefully it'll be sooner rather than more postponing.”

The Bald Range fire was devastating. It has destroyed more than 150 buildings, displaced about 20,000 people and killed at least one person.

So far this year, wildfires have destroyed more than 500 structures in British Columbia.

According to de Pruis, it’s too early to estimate the cost of this year’s wildfire destruction.