Booth, Bear Butte fires hurt Sisters businesses

SISTERS, Ore. (AP) -- The last days of summer in Sisters usually bring carloads of tourists, who throng the narrow streets lined with specialty shops and restaurants.

This year though, it might as well be a ghost town, thanks to two fires burning nearby, the Booth and Bear Butte Fires, which have together burned about 49,000 acres so far.

Since the two fires forced the closure of Highway 20 last week, the owner of The Sno-Cap Drive In watched the line of customers that once overflowed outside the door shrink to just a few behind the counter.

Employees who once hurriedly took orders for old-fashioned milk shakes and homemade ice cream are being sent home earlier with smaller paychecks in their pockets.

Shelves of souvenirs and trinkets sit untouched while aisles remain empty in Sisters Drug and Gift. Tim Muir, the store's owner, said the shop was faring better than other businesses because of the variety of products it offers. He said the fire is creating a demand for pharmacy items like allergy medicine and dry eye products.

"For us, tourism dollars are down, but firefighter dollars are up," Muir said.

More than 2,100 firefighters stationed throughout the area are estimated to have already spent $1 million, according to Bob Ander- son, the complex incident commander.

But the extra bodies didn't make up for the boom typically expected during Labor Day Weekend in Sisters.

"It's like wintertime in the summer," said Terry Stambaugh, between filling up cars at the Sisters Tobacco and Oil Shop.

Stambaugh said customers during the lunch rush would be waiting in line to fill up and head over the mountain. Instead, only two cars were waiting at the pumps Thursday.

Ric Nowak, executive director of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, said bigger communities in similar situations could be eligible for federal aid, but he doesn't know if that's an option for Sisters at this point.

Sisters Mayor Dave Elliott estimated the town has only about a quarter of its normal summer visitors.

He has seen those numbers translate to a lack of business at the deli he owns.

"All we have is locals here," Elliott said.

The chamber had to cancel its Western and Native American Arts Festival because of its dependence on out-of-state visitors.

But both the Sisters Folk Festival scheduled for next weekend and the Jazz Festival to be held later in September will go on as planned.

Businesses in Sisters aren't the only ones heading into the holiday weekend tallying how the fires will affect the biggest money-making holiday of the season.

Loy Helmly, general manager of Black Butte Ranch, said after the weekend is over, the 1,830-acre ranch could lose between $150,000 and $200,000 in profits.

Helmly said reservations, which are usually booked for Labor Day, were down by a third.

Chuck Shephard, president of Hoodoo recreation and owner of Hoodoo ski area, said he stands to lose about $6,000 per day because popular campsites, like those around Suttle Lake, have been closed.

"The (effect) is huge," Shephard said.