The wildfires of 2018 negatively affected most business owners in the Burns Lake area, a survey has shown.
A total of 26 respondents took part in the anonymous poll that consisted of three questions and was conducted by the Village of Burns Lake.
In response to “Has your business done better or worse financially when compared to 2017?” 76 per cent of respondents said it fared “worse in 2018 than in 2017.”
Thirty-three per cent said their businesses had done better in 2018 than in 2017.
The second question, “Did the fires affect your business in a positive way? i.e. more business due to firefighters and others in the area,” had three sets of answers. Most respondents (73 per cent) said “No, the fires did not affect my business in a financially positive way.” Fifteen percent were neutral and said the fires had neither positive or negative effects on their firm’s bottom line. Eleven per cent said their business benefitted financially as a result of the fires.
The third question was “As a result of last year’s fire season, do you have a business continuity plan for future reference?”
Seventy-three per cent answered “no”, and 26 per cent answered “yes.”
Blair McBrideMultimedia reporter
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