Last updated: Oct. 10, 2003

An update at long last!

Sad to say that after nearly 2 years since my last update (!!) it has taken a tragic event like the Kelowna fire to spur me forward on the website. It is not to say that I had lost interest in the Kettle Valley, far from it. I have been busy collecting a large amount of material and am now in the process of updating and adding this material to the website. A number of interesting contributions have come in and there is a wealth of new images on the 'net due to the recent surge of interest in the KVR. I will be adding these to the website over the next few months and revising the look of the site while I'm at it. The links page will be taken down temporarily as there are numerous broken links and I will leave that chore to the end.

For now, here is the top story...

Tragedy Strikes the Kettle Valley!

I'm sure you have heard of the loss of the historic Kettle Valley Railway trestles through scenic Myra Canyon caused by the Okanagan Mountain Fire in Kelowna, BC. 12 of the wooden trestles have been destroyed and the 2 steel bridges seriously damaged. At this time there is only 4 trestles left. Fire-fighters have set up sprinkler systems and fire retardant and the fire is now 100% contained but the restoration work is still a long way off.

Here's the latest from the Castanet Firewatch website.

Boost To Rebuild Trestles

The people trying to rebuild the Myra Canyon trestles destroyed in the Okanagan Mountain Park fire got a much needed boost Wednesday. Ken Campbell, who is the director the Myra Canyon Restoration Society, got a cheque from the Royal Bank of Canada worth $25,000. Engineers are currently doing a damage estimate of the trestles but it's estimated it will cost $15 million to rebuild. There's also talk of holding a national telethon to help generate revenue to rebuild the trestles. (October 8 - 5:00 pm)

(Side Note: To date there have been 39 donations submitted to the Kettle Valley Railway Restoration fund since Monday, Sept 8, for a total of $ 4590.75. While this and other intitives have made a great start more will need to be raised in order to go ahead with any restoration. I urge everyone to make even a small donation. As one person commented "If we all give a little, it will benefit a lot." Donation and credit card information will be collected via a secure on-line donation site.. All tax-deductable donations will be given directly to the organisations involved in restoring the Myra Canyon Trestles and the KVR Trail.)

Fire Now 100% Contained!

Ministry of Forestry - The Okanagan Mountain Park fire is now 100 per cent contained. Fire size as determined by Global Positioning System is estimated to be 25,912 hectares. The fire perimeter is 197 kilometres.

Fire fighters have made good progress in the mopping up of hot spots, infra red scanning technology is helping firefighters detect any residual hot spots that are not clearly visible. Mop up and patrol will continue for the next few weeks and possibly until late fall. Smoke may continue to be visible within the fire perimeter and will be monitored.

Planning and implementation of fire rehabilitation work is currently underway. The initial phase involves rehabilitation of public and private lands affected by fire control activities. This includes activities such as restoring natural drainage patterns, water barring fireguards and trails and grass seeding exposed soil.

The public is reminded that Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park and Myra-Bellevue Protected Area remain closed until further notice. Specific park and protected area closures, campfire bans and other restriction information can be obtained from park facility operators or the B.C. Parks Web site at www.bcparks.ca

For more information on the local Forest Service restrictions, closures and campfire bans, see the Ministry of Forests Protection Branch Web site or contact the local forest district office. For tourism information, contact 1-800-hellobc. (September 20 - 8:21 am)

It is ironic that it was only this year that the Myra Canyon area was declared a National Site of Historic Significance and that probably more people have been made aware of the Kettle Valley in the last 2 weeks than in all the previous years. Looking over some of the Myra Canyon photos that have been posted on-line as well as my own it is easy to see why this area was of such importance, both from a historical, tourism and economic perspective.

Federal Heritage Minister Shelia Copps has pledged to pay for a rebuild assessment of the trestles and there is a broad consensus that the federal and provincial government should both make a sizable contribution in addition to local efforts. One estimate says it could cost $30 million to rebuild the trestles. If the trestles and this important section of the Trans-Canada trail is to be restored it will take all of our help. The Kelowna and Area Okanagan Fire Recovery Trust Fund now has a sub-account set up specifically for the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration to help with fund raising and already individuals and groups are coming forward to help. The Sikh Community has donated $100,000 to the restoration of the Myra Canyon Trestles and there is talk of a benefit concert, similar to the Toronto SARS concert. I urge everyone to donate to this worthy cause. Click on the banner above to be taken to the secure on-line donation site.

Also, the KVR Passport Company from Beaverdell are now offering Myra Canyon Trestles t-shirts depicting the trestles and the water bombing by the Martin Mars Bomber, with the net proceeds going to the Myra Canyon Trestle restoration project. These shirts come in 4 sizes, and in black or sand backgrounds. Order here.

Here is an animated gif that I created using the thermal imaging maps to show the progress of the fire from August 28 to September 7. You can really see how the fire went from pockets to once again a raging inferno and made straight for Myra Canyon. Hats off to all the fire-fighters who have managed to keep fighting it in the face of tremendous odds. Small (GIF 388K) Large (GIF 1MB).

These are the latest photos from the Myra Canyon area. The first photo is one of the destroyed trestles. You can just make out the footings. Truly a heartbreaking site. On the other side of the coin is the second photo showing one of the 4 remaining trestles. The fire seems to have passed this area by given the heavy stands of trees surrounding the bridge. It gives one hope that if we can rebuild the trestles and relink the trail the area will once again be a first-class destination highlighting the historic achievements of Andrew McCulloch and the Kettle Valley Railway.

Photos courtesty of the Castanet Firewatch website.