Fire levels lodge at Tabor Mountain
Ski hill is home turf of Prince George Olympian Meryeta O’Dine
Tabor Mountain Ski Resort will be closed this weekend after a fire destroyed the main lodge on Wednesday night but the resort’s owner said the ski hill could reopen within two weeks. The Ferndale Tabor Volunteer Fire Department received the first call reporting the fire from a passing truck driver at around 11:40 p.m. Wednesday. Prince George RCMP were on the scene shortly after midnight. Once officers arrived, they found the lodge engulfed in flames. An RCMP media release stated that “the structure is a total loss.” There were no injuries and no individuals were inside when the fire began. The cause of the fire is unknown.
Tabor Mountain owner Fern Thibault said the ski hill would likely remain closed this weekend but would reopen the weekend after.
“We might miss this weekend, but we’re shooting for next weekend to be open. The snow’s too good,” Thibault said. “This isn’t going to keep us down.”
According to Ferndale/Tabor Fire Chief Bryant Kemble, the main lodge was destroyed by the fire.
“It’s a total write-off,” Kemble said. Twenty firefighters responded to the call late Wednesday and departed the scene at 4 a.m. Thursday. Police remained on the scene throughout the day Thursday.
Much of the remaining infrastructure of the ski hill appears intact. The lodge housed a ticket booth, ski and snowboard rentals and a concession. There is currently no estimate of the dollar value of the losses.
The resort, located a 15-minute drive east of Prince George, has been a popular venue for skiers for decades.
Prince George’s Meryeta O’Dine, who is set to join the Canadian snowboarding team at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang this month, grew up skiing and then snowboarding at Tabor. O’Dine is currently ranked seventh in the world in women’s snowboard cross. She captured a gold medal at Tabor during the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
Virginia O’Dine, Meryeta’s mother, said the snowboarder began skiing at Tabor at the age of seven.
“My heart is broken,” O’Dine said, reached by phone in Calgary.
“It was a big part of our life for a long time so this is kind of a hit to her right before the Olympics.”
Meryeta O’Dine, who is scheduled to compete in two World Cup races in Europe this weekend, posted on Facebook that she was dismayed upon hearing about the fire on Thursday.
“This was my home, my safe place and where I was able to (make) my dreams come true,” O’Dine wrote.
“The ski hill lives, but coming home this time won’t be the same without the same smelly lodge.”
Virginia O’Dine worked for 10 years as a manager at the resort. She said Tabor has been integral to the community in Prince George.
“Just about everyone you meet in town grew up on that hill,” she said.
Tabor Mountain hosted snowboard and ski cross competitions during the 2015 Canada Winter Games. The facility has also hosted Western Canadian Ski Cross, NorAm Ski Cross and NorAm Boarder Cross races over the last few years.
Although Tabor may not be open this weekend, the Hart Ski Hill announced on its Facebook page Thursday it would allow Tabor season’s pass holders free admission to the ski hill over the weekend.