Lions Bay closes trail access due to ‘ongoing wildfire risks’ – BC | 24CA News
The Village of Lions Bay has shut down public entry to trails attributable to wildfire issues.
“This decision was not taken lightly, and we look forward to welcoming hikers back when conditions are safe for everybody, after we get some much-needed rain,” Lions Bay Mayor Jaime Cunliffe stated.
“We wanted to get the message out, so hikers don’t drive all the way here only to find they can’t go hiking.”
The municipal authorities stated the closure aligns with different communities across the province and is an effort to curb any wildfires brought on by people.
“Due to unprecedented hiker pressure in our backcountry areas, we must unfortunately take this temporary measure to reduce the risk of a human-caused wildfire,” Lions Bay workers stated in a launch.
“Unlike other communities such as Kelowna and Yellowknife where fires started kilometres away, a fire on trails could be only hundreds of metres away from homes.”
The wildfire danger is heightening attributable to low water provide and important drought situations.
The Lions Bay area is at present at Drought Level 5, the place adversarial impacts are “almost certain.”
“Unlike other Metro Vancouver communities, Lions Bay relies only upon its watershed above the village. A fire in this area would contaminate the water supply with disastrous consequences for our small community,” workers stated.
“A further danger is that hikers at the popular Tunnel Bluffs viewpoint could be stranded, putting a further strain on rescue efforts and endangering visitors and residents alike.”
Currently, there are 364 energetic wildfires burning across the province, it the worst wildfire season on file.
The 2023 season has shattered all earlier information for the variety of hectares burned, with greater than 1.76 million hectares burned this yr as of Aug. 25.
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