Ice Storm of January 2009 Affects Ozarks Tourism
Is Northern Arkansas' Tourism in Jeopardy?
Apr 13, 2009
Will the damage from the ice storm cause a lack of tourism? White Buffalo Resort employee, Ilene, answered no. Ilene talked about the river and damage from the ice storm by saying,"The river kept the air insulated and warm." The river acting as insulation to the air caused the White Buffalo Resort, twenty minutes from the city of Mountain Home, to hardly have any damage. "A couple of tree branches broke and we got those cleaned up the very next day," Ilene said gratefully.
The day was cold and ice was falling from the sky of a little town in Arkansas named Mountain Home. Little did residents know that the days to come would lead to chills, fear, hunger and might affect the tourism to come. The ice coated everything in sight from the roads to the trees. Huge tree branches fell every thirty seconds due to weakness from the ice. The electricity went out leaving friends and family to hover together to keep warm and feel safe.
To this day, Mountain Home, Ark. residents are cleaning up. The people putting a rush on clean-up are the owners and employees of the beautiful campgrounds scattered all throughout Northern Arkansas. The north of the Natural State has suffered because of the ice storm and tourists might not see it as beautiful for quite a while.
Mountain Home Has Positive Outlook on Tourism
Not only does the White Buffalo Resort feel that tourism will not be affected, the city of Mountain Home doesn't either. "Parks are getting cleaned up quickly," states a Mountain Home, Ark. City Hall employee, "and by the heavy time of tourism this summer everything is expected to be cleaned."
Residents, park owners and city employees of Mountain Home, Ark. have been working hard to get their Natural State back to the beautiful standards they have always had. Hopes are high and the outcome looks great when it comes to the ice storm clean-up.
Damage from Ice Won't Stop Camping
"Will the damage from the ice storm stop you from camping this summer?" This was a question asked to ten different locals that love to camp. Every one of them answered, "No." Mountain Home, Ark. local and Eagle Scout, Cody Douglas, said, "Hiking might be more difficult since there is so many wooded areas that are going to take a while for clean-up to get to, but that won't stop true hikers."
Looks like the Ozarks tourist outcome is not in jeopardy due to the 2009 ice storm damages. Mountain Home, Ark. residents came together as a town to help get their beautiful town clean and back to normal. Soon there won't even be a trace that an ice storm even occurred and tourists beautiful thoughts about Northern Arkansas will remain the same.
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