create Burns Lake Trading Company. Together, they built a store/hotel and a sawmill on Gerow Island, which would become the hub of trade for the surrounding area. The Village was incorporated on December 6, 1923. The first Mayor was G. M Gerow. The first newspaper in Burns Lake was called the Observer, published and edited by Sidney Godwin. In the late 1950s, another newspaper, also called the Observer, was operated by Ralph Vipond. It closed in 1961. The town continued to grow throughout the 20th century. Its current industries have become forestry and tourism, though many workers commute to jobs in the mining industry. Burns Lake received nationwide attention on January 20, 2012, when an explosion destroyed Babine Forest Products, a wood mill which was one of the town's primary employers. The village of Burns Lake is infamous within the trucking and commercial transportation industries for its narrow, twisting main road which makes the transportation of large loads to adjacent communities difficult and sometimes impossible. Despite numerous unanswered complaints and appeals, the British Columbia Highway 16 remains throttled. A number of historic buildings still stand including: The Old Hospital First built in 1933 by the Women's Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada, the hospital was officially opened by Canada's former Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir. Once the largest and finest public buildings between Prince George and Prince Rupert, it was famous for its fine gardens. It was later occupied by a senior citizens apartment complex, then declared a heritage building in 1982 and redeveloped as an office building by its owner, the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation. The Bucket of Blood Located adjacent to the Burns Lake Museum, this square-cut log building is a former fur trade post which later became a gambling den. Due to the nature of gambling, fights broke out in the building, earning its name. It now contains a display of historical artifacts from the life of Craig Wafflehouse, one of the founders of Burns Lake. Geography Climate Burns Lake has a subarctic climate (Dfc,) although it is on the borderline of a humid continental climate. It has short warm summers and cold winters. Average winter snowfall is approximately 190 cm (74.8 in). In June 1982 Burns Lake recorded 376.5 hours of sunshine. This is most sunshine ever recorded in British Columbia during the month of June. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted