Mission closes municipal forest due to wildfire risk
Posted August 23, 2023 1:45 pm.
The City of Mission has announced it will be closing its municipal forest starting Thursday due to extreme wildfire risk.
Ordered by the fire chief, the closure will apply to the Stave West Forest and Recreation Area, Hunter Road, Red and Bear Mountain, and BC Hydro boat launch.
“As we have all witnessed in recent days, the risk of wildfire in interface areas has never been more real and present,” said Mayor Paul Horn.
Only vehicles travelling to designated and reserved campsites will be permitted in the area moving forward.
Horn says if a wildfire broke out in this area, the drinking water and electricity supplied to many local homes could be affected.
“Here in Mission, our forest constitutes literally half of our community and countless people would be displaced or adversely affected by a wildfire,” he said.
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The decision to shut off access to the Florence Lake Forest Service Road, the most travelled in all of B.C., according to Horn, was not made lightly.
“Our staff will work closely with the province in monitoring conditions and updating the closure,” he said. “We will open the road as soon as it is safe to do so.”
These closures come after a close call at the end of July when Mission Fire and the BC Wildfire Service responded to a fire in the Cannell Lake area, about 20 minutes north of the city. It was only recently extinguished.
Currently, the closest fire to the city is the Davis Lake fire, approximately 18 kilometres north of Mission. Estimated at about 215 hectares, this fire is currently under control and suspected to be human-caused.
The City of Mission says it will keep the public updated on its website and social media channels, but it intends to keep the closure in place until the fire risk subsides.
Anyone found in contravention of the closures or fire ban may be subjected to fines, the city says.
