Citing 'extreme' fire danger, this B.C. city has closed all its nature parks

Kamloops, B.C., is seen from the CTV News Vancouver drone on May 23, 2022.

The City of Kamloops has closed all of its nature parks and will soon be implementing "enhanced" water restrictions as it works to deal with severe drought and "extreme" fire danger.

The city's fire chief ordered the closure of parks and nature trails under the city's Fire Prevention Bylaw. The closures took effect at 4 p.m. Friday at eight locations around the city.

"The parks will be closed to bike, pedestrian, and vehicular traffic," the city said in an announcement posted on its website Friday. 

"Parks crews are in the process of installing closure signs and will continue to do so over the next few days. Crews will also be monitoring city parks to ensure residents and visitors are abiding by closures, and community services officers may issue fines for violations."

The affected areas are:

• Kamloops Bike Ranch
• The trail connecting Barnhartvale to Peterson Creek through Juniper Ridge
• Dallas-Barnhartvale Nature Park
• Kenna Cartwright Nature Park
• Peterson Creek Nature Park
• Rose Hill Park
• Skyline Park
• Valleyview Nature Park

Kamloops has also closed its Barnhartvale Landfill and Yard Waste Depot until further notice. The city is encouraging residents to use other facilities during the closure. 

In response to the province elevating the surrounding regions to drought level 5 – the highest level on B.C.'s scale – the city will also be implementing "enhanced water use restrictions" starting on Aug. 14.

"The current extreme drought conditions require drastic measures from residents and business owners to help conserve our water supply for domestic use and fire suppression and to protect our environment," the city said in a statement on Thursday.

Beginning Aug. 14, outdoor watering and irrigation with sprinklers or other automatic systems will be prohibited. Only handheld, spring-loaded nozzles may be used for outdoor watering.

Washing of vehicles and boats will only be permitted at commercial wash locations unless the washing is being done for safety purposes, and pressure washing for aesthetic purposes will not be allowed.

The city said it has already adjusted its irrigation systems to reduce water use by 25 per cent, but noted that a further reduction could be necessary in the future. If that happens, bookings at city playing fields may need to be curtailed to protect fields from damage.