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Sun Valley Businesses Worry About Fire's Economic Impact

InciWeb. Map showing the progression of the Beaver Creek Fire

Businesses around Sun Valley, Idaho worry the massive Beaver Creek fire will have a big impact on the tourist-dependent economy of central Idaho. Several events have already been canceled because of the blaze.

This is the new worry by business owners. First of course was the threat of fire. And now there’s the threat of fire or at least the perceived threat of it will continue to keep away tourists through a really crucial part of their business cycle.

This is a big part of the summer. The Wagon Days is coming up in Ketchum. That’s a non-motorized parade that they’re famous for. It brings in a lot of people over Labor Day. That’s still going on but it’s not clear how many people that will bring in.

And what happens after that is what businesses here call the slack time. It’s before the ski season starts, which is of course really crucial to this area and after the summer season. So it’s really this down time that they really need to have been able to earn a fair amount to be able to weather it.