Record-breaking fires put US tourism in the red

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Published time: August 19, 2012 22:25
Edited time: August 20, 2012 02:25

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Accident, Natural disasters, Tourism, USA

American tourism is struggling to stay afloat as raging wildfires ravage vast amounts of the country's territory. Record-breaking fires have caused some tourist sites to close their doors, with some 6.8 million acres having burnt to the ground.

As recreation sites catch fire and tourists' prospects of exploring the great outdoors are destroyed, many communities in the American West whose livelihoods depend on visitors are losing both land and money.

This year, 42,274 fires have taken their destructive toll on US land. Outdoor tourist attractions, particularly in the western part of the country, have seen their number of visitors dwindle as the phones ring off the hook with cancellation requests.

“We’ve had nothing but cancellations,” the owner of a tourist transportation business in Idaho told Reuters. Wildfires have destroyed 80,000 acres of mountain pine forests in the state, leaving numerous river rafters stranded after they found the exit road blocked by fire damage.

In California, some national parks have partially burned down, including Lassen Volcanic National Park and Joshua Tree National Park. Further north in Washington State, last week a fire caused hundreds of people to evacuate as more than 24,000 acres were destroyed.

In Colorado, the Waldo Canyon Fire caused the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents this summer, and having caused more than $352.6 million in damage, holds the records for most destructive and expensive fire in Colorado State history.

“We’ll have to maybe lay some people off and get a loan to carry us through next year,” Pat Legel, owner of Wanderlust Adventure Rafting in Colorado, told NBC. “I don’t think I will see the landscape along the river recover in my lifetime,” he added.

A Manitou Springs tourist operator said the Colorado fire cost $2 million in tourist revenues, destroyed several businesses and placed a dozen others at risk of closure.

“It’s been far worse than we expected,” Roger Miller, chief operating officer of the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, told Reuters.

Even America’s most popular whitewater rafting site, located in Canon City, Colorado, is struggling to stay in the black.

“We’ve had a lot of cancellations due to the forest fires and it’s really hurt us,” Scott Peterson, marketing director of River Runners Rafting, told CBS News. “Our company’s down about 25 per cent. And I think all the companies are suffering. This river, and whitewater rafting, is the lifeline to these river communities, just like the ski areas are to the mountain towns.”

This year to date, wildfires have wiped out 6.8 million acres across the US, which is 25 per cent higher than the 10-year average for this time of year.

And as state officials dig into their emergency funds to repair damage to the fire-stricken areas, locals say it could take many years before wildlife returns to the places that attract outdoor enthusiasts to the western US.

Comments (1)

Birchwood (unregistered) 21.08.2012 01:57

Strange, the news reports of the Record Breaking fires throughout the United States.......
Now the nightly news is showing they are spraying insecticide in many areas of the U.S. for the West Nile Virus (plagues).......
Now it is being reported many of the crops such as Romaine Lettuce, Cantelopes, etc. are infected with diseases that can kill people...........
In many areas of the U.S. when a person turns on their water faucet not only does water come out but also methane gas also that can be ignited.....
The Mississippi River is so low now, barges were stopped today, as reported on the news tonight - And of course the drinking water in many areas along the Mississippi River, is becoming salt water......
The "True" Natural happenings, of course we are helpless to prevent, but it seems_________ .........

The n something preventable, as an example, in that as described in reports previously, catastrophe can bring opportunity to some people in the Government - The Federal Goverment knows of and allows a fraudulent company named Wonder Movers to move household items throughout the United States........ And of course with this fraudulent paperwork they use, it could also be used 1st party or 3rd party removed (sold to a domestic or foreign terrorist group at a truck stop, etc.) to gain access to, or place a truck next to a building, such as in the Oklahoma City Bombing. If something does happen, it could be as bad as any of the Natural Disaster described in the beginning, but in this case, it is/was preventable.

There are of course many people of the highest of integrity in the U.S. Government, but it seems there may be some that are of the other side of the coin. As History has shown for hundreds of years, "To Remedy" a problem: Simply, "Shoot the Messenger".

Undo