A historic Bella Coola site has been destroyed.
A fire ripped through the old BC Packers building that is located near the harbour Thursday night.
“I live on my boat and I was still up and I was just going to brush my teeth and I was wondering why it was so daylight,” harbour manager Neil McLachlan told MyCaribooNow of the fire that broke out at around 11:30 pm.
“It was bright and flames were up in the air, well I ran up to the office and phoned the fire department.”
“My biggest fear was the harbour,” he added.
“I had to evacuate about 60 people out of the harbor and then we were just wetting down the boats and making sure that it didn’t spread into the boating community here.”
The Central Coast Regional District said early Friday morning that spill response authorities have been notified and are in dialogue with Nuxalk Nation and District officials regarding debris from the fire. The District added it is hoped that little to no damage beyond the burned BC Packers building and walkway has taken place.
No injuries were reported.
“It’s quite a historic site and was a massive building. It’s been there I don’t know how long, 60 or 70 years, and it’s gone,” McLachlan said.
“No idea how it started obviously yet, but it could have been really bad for the harbour if the wind was from the east we would have been in big trouble. It’s only 50 meters away from our docks and 120 boats that are in the harbour here.”
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