Classic car enthusiasts from Vancouver Island were at the Williams Lake Stampede Grounds to kick off a week-long cruise of the region to help support local businesses following last summer’s wildfires.
Executive Director of Community Futures Alberni Clayoquot, Lori Camire felt compelled to return to the region after she and her husband were in Williams Lake last year on a cruise to Dawson Creek a day before the wildfires broke out.
“We were fortune that Chuck’s Auto Supply also had their car show and so I think they probably helped us and we helped them,” she said Sunday.
“It’s been wonderful with the volume of people and interest people have had in the car show that Chuck’s had and the Wildfire Recovery Cruise.”
Starting the cruise from Hope with her husband and 20 other Island residents, Camire says prior to arriving in Williams Lake they went up through Merritt and have already made stops along the way at Logan Lake, Ashcroft, Cache Creek, and Clinton.
“My husband and I also have a small business. We would not have been able to have withstood five weeks of no income and we recognize that that’s a considerable hardship on any business regardless of size,” she says.
“The business owners, the people in the Cariboo are resilient, but they’re still quietly struggling through. They’re still trying to make up their loss.”
The Wildfire Recovery Cruise which will also be stopping in Quesnel will end July 15th with the Hot July Nights Car Show in 100 Mile.