Fires aren’t smoking local economy
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
As Idaho and the West experience the largest fire seasons in 50 years, the
Wood River Valley and surrounding wild lands are fairly fire-free.
And the perception that the entire West, especially Idaho, is shrouded in
ashes, flames and smoke doesn’t seem to be hindering this summer’s tourism.
Sun Valley Co. spokesman Jack Sibbach said yesterday that a number of Sun
Valley’s prospective visitors have called to inquire about fires but are assured when
they call that the Wood River Valley is fire-free.
Sawtooth National Forest supervisor Bill LeVere expressed similar
sentiments.
"I haven’t seen that it has deterred people yet," he said
in an interview yesterday. "Maybe it is, but I don’t have any proof of
that."
LeVere said a number of people have stopped at Sawtooth National Forest
headquarters in Twin Falls to ask about fires, but find that their favorite camping and
recreation sites are still intact when they do.
"So far we’ve been pretty lucky," LeVere said of the
Sawtooth’s fire record so far this summer.
Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of Commerce executive director Carol Waller
said this summer’s trends in local tourism do not show any kind of link to the fire
activity.
July was a little slow, she said, while August is strong so far.
"I don’t know if we can pinpoint any kind of great negative
effect because of the fires," she said.
Chamber of commerce visitor center manager Shannon Harrigan said many
people are calling to inquire about the fires, however.
"Every day, on average, for the past three weeks, we’ve been
averaging about 15 calls a day [relating to fires]," she said. "People are
worried about the smoke and wondering if the fires are close by."
Harrigan said it’s possible that the fires are impacting local
tourism, but said it would be a difficult thing to quantify.
"It’s probably not a big percentage of people who aren’t
coming because of it," she said. "Whether or not it’s making people change
their plans, it’s hard for me to say."
Ten major fires were burning across Idaho yesterday and had burned over
350,000 acres since early last month.
President Clinton was scheduled to visit a fire near McCall yesterday for
a first-hand assessment of the worst fire season in years.
Crews and equipment from 47 states, Canada and Mexico have been committed
to fight the fires, according to the Associated Press.
