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Fire destroys Port Renfrew’s old Lighthouse Pub; owner vows to rebuild

A building central to Port Renfrew, the former Lighthouse Pub and future adventure centre, burned to the ground early Saturday morning. An employee living in staff accommodation woke up around 5 a.m. to the sound of crackling.
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The old Lighthouse Pub was being converted into hostel and restaurant when it caught fire and burned early Saturday.

A building central to Port Renfrew, the former Lighthouse Pub and future adventure centre, burned to the ground early Saturday morning.

An employee living in staff accommodation woke up around 5 a.m. to the sound of crackling. He looked outside and saw flames engulfing the wooden structure. Port Renfrew volunteer firefighters rushed to the scene but by the time they arrived, half the building was destroyed.

“There was nothing left by the time we got there,” said Jack Julseth of Three Point Properties. Julseth, his wife Teresa and their son-in-law and daughter Ian and Trish Laing purchased the old Lighthouse pub in 2012, eight years after it was shuttered.

The Wild Renfrew adventure centre was modelled to look like an up-market chalet with vaulted cedar ceilings and a three-storey lighthouse-style viewing platform.

The centre was to be a 60-room hostel, restaurant and check-in point for people to pick up wet suits, bikes, sea kayaks before outdoor excursions. It was weeks away from completion.

Julseth is undeterred by the setback.

“We’ll certainly be rebuilding,” he said. “Sometimes you have to say ‘somebody kicked down my sand castle so we have to start again.’ “

The cause of the fire has not been determined but there’s a possibility electric heaters, used to dry mud on the drywall, were to blame, Julseth said.

Julseth praised the work of the volunteer firefighters, who battled the blaze for hours and prevented fire from spreading to other properties.

The Lighthouse Pub was built in the mid-1990s and was a popular spot for locals, fishermen and hikers. It was the type of place where the kitchen would cook up your catch fresh from the ocean, said Connie Hovey, who owns the Trailhead Resort and Charters and has lived in Port Renfrew for 30 years.

News of the fire distressed many on social media who said the building carried a lot of memories.

Julseth estimates it will cost at least $1.5 million to replace it, much more than will be covered by insurance.

Instead of opening in the spring of 2018, Julseth hopes the adventure centre can open in 2019.

Julseth and the Wild Renfrew brand also includes West Coast Trail Lodge and Wild Coast Cottages, both popular with hikers embarking on the West Coast Trail.

In November, the Pacheedaht First Nation opened a new gas bar in Port Renfrew, a symbol of the former logging town’s resurgence.

The gas station, soon-to-be frisbee golf course, proposed zipline and the adventure centre are all part of the “master plan”, Julseth said, to attract more visitors to the hamlet 74 kilometres west of Sooke.

“[Port Renfrew] is booming. We’re growing leaps and bounds. So this is just a bump in the road and we’ll get back building as fast as we can.”

kderosa@timescolonist.com