'Now we're being broken apart': Some Lake Louise Ski Resort staff laid off after fire

It's another devastating blow for people who work at Lake Louise Ski Resort.

First, a fire ravaged their accommodations.

Then, on July 24, 10 hospitality staff were given notice and a day later, 12 people were let go.

"We've looked at every option and the simple fact is that we have a deficit when it comes to housing. We've explored everything we could, took our time doing it," said Dave Schebek, Lake Louise Ski Resort general manager.

"(With) the displacement and the fire and where we sit today, you know, 95 per cent of our team is still here and still employed, so we're proud of that but we do recognize that unfortunately, it boils down to immediate number of beds just aren't out there."

On July 3, a fire was set in one of the third-floor units of the Charleston Residence in the Lake Louise townsite that served as staff accommodations.

Most residents lost all of their belongings.

Evan Svendsen, from Didsbury, figures about $5,000 worth of his property went up in flames.

Now, the 26-year-old says being laid off is another punch to the gut.

"Oh, it was heartbreaking, you know? I came up here, I had a new job and a new life and then it just seems to be cut so short," he said.

"We are like a family here ... and after the disaster, we felt closer than ever because there's something that tragedy does about bringing people together and now we're being broken apart."

Bethan Levesley, a 21-year-old from England, was swimming at Lake Louise when she got the call to come to the resort for a meeting where she found out she was no longer employed.

Both she and her boyfriend, Gavin Fulford, were laid off.

All of her belongings are in grocery bags and she's had a hard time getting her life back to normal since the fire.

"I have a photo of my passport that was given to me, a photo of my SIN number and a photo of my visa. I have five days to leave the resort. That's it," she said.

"Just being an international, like, my parents are 7,000 miles away. It's overwhelming. It's the first time I've left the country as well."

Along with a letter informing them of the layoff, the resort provided a list of potential employers in the mountain parks.

"We wanted to do all we could to help our team that wasn't going to be with us relocate to another business in the Bow Valley that needed employees and had accommodations and could provide for them," said Schebek.

"It was the right thing to do."

Svendsen is already reaching out to other possible employers and is thankful for what the resort has done for him in the three weeks since the fire.

"We've been living rent-free, and we've been getting all the food provided to us for free," he said.

"So they have done absolutely everything, bending over backward to make us feel happy."

Svendsen hopes to get a job at the resort when it gears up for the winter season.