“A situation you don’t expect to wake up to,”: Fraser Lake Mayor calls weekend fire a “big blow”

“It’s one more blow and we don’t know where this is going to lead.”

That’s from Fraser Lake Mayor Sarrah Storey following yesterday’s (Sunday) early morning fire that saw the Fraser Lake Inn and the local supermarket go up in flames.

Storey commended the work of their volunteer fire department, some of whom put in an 18-hour day.

“I am sure they were cold and they had blisters on their feet from walking in their boots and they have smoke inhalation breathing in a lot of those toxic fumes too even with the protection they have.”

“They were in very, very cold and windy conditions – some of them were there from just after 3 o’clock in the morning until about seven at night and some were there even longer.”

“That was a very, very long day for a small and little volunteer fire department.”

Storey added this is the community’s latest gut punch since West Fraser closed its mill in January 2024, leaving 175 people out of a job.

“It is just one more blow and we don’t really know where this is going to lead. It seems like we are always taking two steps forward and one step back and constantly having to advocate and push – sometimes it feels like a very overwhelming situation.”

“Obviously, it was the grocery store and the hotel. Even though the restaurant wasn’t currently operating we have had these buildings in Fraser Lake for a long time and we have people working in all of these businesses including the Cannabis Hut that went up in flames. There are a lot of people out of a job.”

Storey launched a Go Fund Me in support of the volunteer fire department.