Though an assessment is still underway, city officials expect the Williams Lake River Valley will be closed for the time being due to concerns surrounding slope stability after a wildfire swept through the area.
A tour of the Williams Lake River Valley Tuesday afternoon shows areas where the fire burned hot up the steep valley walls to Mackenzie Avenue Sunday, July 21.
"There's probably going to be nobody [allowed] in the river valley for at least another year. It's got to be fixed. The burned trees will probably have to be removed ... a big redo," said Rob Warnock, the city's EOC director, as he emphasized the importance of the public staying out of the area due to safety concerns.
The river valley just reopened to the public in the spring of 2023 after being closed for three years due to the 2020 floods which damaged city infrastructure and swiped out most of the bridges.
"All our bridges are still good," Warnock reports, adding there was some damage to fencing around ponds as well as seven or eight power poles which burned in the wildfire started by a tree top falling on a power pole.
All of the poles had just recently been replaced.
Currently the city's sewage lagoons are operating on a generator.
It is unclear at this time when CN Rail will be given the green light to operate in the city again, since the tracks run along the top of the valley. Tracks and slope stability are under assessment.
Wildfire crews are still extinguishing hot spots as dry forest fuels made for ideal burning conditions.
"It's burning deep," said Jordan Magnuson, incident commander on the fire for BC Wildfire Service.
