FILE PHOTO - The view from the top of Knox Mountain Park on April 7, 2016. The road to the upper portion of the park has been closed to vehicles as of Wednesday, July 5, 2017 due to the extreme fire risk.
(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
July 05, 2017 - 8:00 PM
KELOWNA - It’s the first week into July and already the top of Knox Mountain Park Drive is closed to vehicles due to extreme fire risk.
No cars or trucks will be allowed past the first lookout at Knox Mountain and the road closure will stay in effect until the City of Kelowna deems it safe to reopen the road, according to a media release.
“Not only have we been experiencing hot weather the past few days, but the forecast shows that temperatures will continue to climb,” City parks services manager Blair Stewart says in the release. “This puts our parks at risk of becoming extremely dry which increases fire hazard.”
Although the upper portion of the park is closed to vehicle traffic, park visitors are still able to hike to the top.
“We still encourage the public to visit Knox Mountain, but to be cautious and understand that hot, dry conditions come with potential fire risks,” Stewart says.
This could be the earliest Knox Mountain Park Drive has been closed due to fire risk, according to the City of Kelowna.
In the past seven years, the earliest closure was on July 21, 2015. Prior to that, the park closed on July 30, 2010. In 2003 — theyear of the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire — Knox Mountain Park Drive was closed as of July 18.
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