Wildfire smoke still lingers in the air in Leavenworth, and though conditions have improved from unhealthy levels earlier this month, it's still taking a toll.
Wildfire smoke still lingers in the air in Leavenworth, and though conditions have improved from unhealthy levels earlier this month, it's still taking a toll on local tourism during what's typically one of the busier months of the year.
"We're usually at 100% occupancy this entire month. Right now, we're down about 35% on average," said Jesse Boyd, managing owner of the Bavarian Lodge.
Visitors are down at the Bavarian Lodge just months after local businesses weathered yet another storm with extreme weather and historic flooding that knocked out power for days and cut off access on Highway 2 last winter.
"It's kind of been a one-two punch, so to speak," Boyd said.
But business owners in Leavenworth say it's not anything they haven't dealt with before.
"We're a great mountain town, so we have to expect there's going to be a certain amount of weather impact always, and there always has been for decades," said York Baur, co-owner of Iron & Velvet. "It's really nothing new, and the business community here is great about rallying together and getting town open again very quickly."
Businesses say it's not just recent natural disasters having an impact, but it's often the perception of them that makes things worse.
"Once that has been established and people know we're not a spot to visit for a few days, it can often stretch a week or two or three beyond the actual impact of the smoke," Boyd said.
"We would encourage consumers to just check out the webcam, we have live webcams throughout town, you can see exactly what's going on," Baur said. "So don't speculate or read a headline. Check it out."
As local businesses look to the future, there are concerns about how climate change could affect wildfires and other natural disasters down the line. But whatever comes next, they'll work to bounce back like they always have before.
"I think we as a community have always been adaptive; that's what Leavenworth has always been about, so I think we're always going to continue to watch out for what the future holds," Boyd said.
