B.C.’s Hells Gate struggling due to pandemic, wildfires

HELLS GATE (NEWS 1130) — A popular destination for thrill-seekers in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon is marking its 50th anniversary, but celebrations are on hold due to wildfires and COVID-19.

The Hells Gate Airtram has seen business plummet due to the pandemic. Operations Manager William Wu says the attraction is seeing 70 per cent fewer customers than it did in 2019. Heavily reliant on international tourists and people from out of province, Wu says they were only seeing a trickle of visitors.

“To be honest business is not as not good as usual, that’s for sure. We just have a few customers come in each day,” he says.

“We are still kind of the tourism attraction, people will still know about us, they still want to come up here to visit us.”

With government aid and some savings, he says he’s been able to keep 15 workers employed and the doors open.

“That was just enough to at least not have us lay off any staff,” he says.

Since the fire that destroyed the Village of Lytton closed Highway 1 on June 30, Wu says people don’t seem to know that they can still visit, and he’s been unable to get an estimate for when the road will reopen.

“We’re kind of still waiting.”

With fires burning throughout the province, Wu says there are concerns smoky skies quality will further decrease people’s interest in visiting. In 2017, the attraction remained open during the worst of the wildfires, but Wu says they ultimately shut down for a week because no customers showed up.

Although Wu and his team started planning how to mark their milestone anniversary a few years ago, the current state of affairs means everything is on hold.

“This is our 50th year, so it’s a big year. I hope we can get through this year and the fears of COVID pass — then we can get back to business.”