Kelowna to close Knox Mountain Drive for annual wildfire concerns

The City of Kelowna, B.C., is once again closing the road that winds through Knox Mountain Park due to wildfire concerns.

An annual summer occurrence, Knox Mountain Drive will be shut down this year starting Thursday evening, July 11, at 8 p.m.

The city says no vehicle traffic will be allowed until conditions improve, though people will still be able to access the park’s first lookout by foot or bike.

One year ago, a wildfire sparked to life in Knox Mountain Park on Canada Day.

The blaze was quickly brought under control, thanks to previous wildfire mitigation.

2:05 Fire mitigation helps prevent wildfire spread

“We’ve had some very hot weather the past few days which has resulted in our parks becoming extremely dry and significantly increasing fire risk,” Todd Cashin, the city’s urban forestry supervisor, said on Thursday.

“The entire park will remain open to the public, but we are limiting access by vehicle to the lookouts as a preventative safety measure. When temperatures are this high, we try to do everything we can to ensure our community stays safe from wildfire.”

The road will stay closed until the city determines that it’s safe to reopen.

The city also issued a reminder that campfires and barbecues are not allowed in city or regional district parks – except for barbecues on beaches.

2:24 Kelowna equipped with ‘game changer’ of a firefighting tool

Also Thursday, the City of West Kelowna urged residents and visitors to be cautious when visiting local parks.

The city says it has around 215 hectares of parkland, but that it’s bumped up to 655 hectares when regional parks are included.

“A significant area of West Kelowna’s surrounding upper elevations were impacted by the 2023 McDougall Creek fire, and fire risk in these areas remains a critical concern,” said the city.

“Much of this area is Crown land, and there are many authorized and informal recreational trails throughout the area.”