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A prominent member of the Kelowna community is speaking out, calling for the removal of danger trees at Myra Bellevue Park.
Peter Plimmer, president and CEO at Big White Ski Resort, has written a letter to George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and BC Parks staff after his wife was nearly hit by a falling tree at Myra Canyon on Sunday.
“Park users tend to understand that there may be an elevated risk of falling trees when conditions are windy, today was absolutely calm with clear skies. The part of this tree that slammed on to the trail not 20 feet from my wife took 5 people to move and was about 24” (60cm) in diameter. A few degrees different for the angle of the fall or a small change of pace of her riding and you would be receiving a very different letter,” writes Plimmer.
He questions what it will take for the danger of trees left from the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire to be mitigated.
“Today my wife was nearly hit by a tree that should not have been there. There was no wind on a perfectly sunny day and when the parking lot at Myra-Bellvue Provincial Park was full. What a horrible tragedy this could have been if it hit her or the group of riders that arrived shortly after.”
While he understands the value of leaving some trees for wildlife habitat, he points out that there are thousands in the park, adding “the few hundred that may exist in the entire park that pose a risk to trail users cannot be worth the risk of a human life.”
Plimmer says ignoring the risk is negligent. He calls on the government to do what it should to protect users of Myra Bellevue and any other BC Park. He cc’d his email to Friends of the South Slopes Kelowna and Mountain Bikers of the Central Okanagan, whose volunteers help maintain the trails in Myra Canyon.
His letter concludes with, “I hope you take this in the spirit that it is intended and that is a call to HELP the volunteers do what needs to be done so British Columbians and visitors from out of province don’t risk their lives on sanctioned trails and can enjoy the outdoors as that is what the park is for.”
