Myra Canyon British Columbia - A piece of British Columbia history went up in creosote-tinged smoke early yesterday as flames from a forest fire outside Kelowna destroyed two heritage train trestles and damaged at least three others.
 
Fire officials and Kelowna's mayor had tears in their eyes as they revealed the damage wrought on the historic trestles built nearly 100-years-ago to link two Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) lines.
 
There was little chance fire crews would be able to save any of the other 16 trestles along the 13 kilometre stretch of steep canyon as the 22,800 hectare fire continued to rage, fire incident commander Brian Kempf said.
 
News of the destruction spread through Kelowna almost as quickly as the fire moved through the tinder-dry forests outside the city.
 
Mayor Walter Gray said people in the evacuation centre talked about being able to rebuild their homes, but not the historic trestles.
 
"Even people who lost their homes are very emotional and passionate about these trestles," he said.
 
The trestles, towering as much as 50 metres above the canyon floor, were considered an engineering feat when they were built in 1914 and 1915 across a mile-wide canyon.
 
But they are also a work of engineering art.
 
Each structure is patterned differently, depending on the depth of the gorge it spans and its slope conditions, said Ken Campbell, a member of the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society.
 
All but two are built from Douglas fir and coated with creosote, a highly flammable wood preservative.
 
CP replaced two of them with steel trestles in the early 1930s.
 
Mr. Campbell was up on the trestles three weeks ago, clearing brush and cleaning toilets as part of the regular maintenance duties performed by the restoration society.
 
At the time, the fire was limited to Okanagan Mountain Park and the trestles didn't appear to be in serious danger.
 
Yesterday, he was stunned by the news that three years of volunteer work and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations went up in smoke.
 
"All of that work and dedication and passion for the place is ruined," he said.
 
Mr. Campbell has been pouring his own sweat into the historic trestles since the restoration group got its small start in 1993.
 
The structures began deteriorating after the Kettle Valley Railway was abandoned in the 1960s.
 
Thirty years later, the province threatened to close them down after a handful of accidents, hikers falling from them to serious injury.
 
But hundreds of volunteers stepped in, working over three years to refurbish the 18 trestles, installing railings and putting down boardwalks, the track had been removed, to make them safe and accessible.
 
Donations of lumber, supplies, and time poured in.
 
"It was a labour of love," Mr. Campbell said.
 
The trestles draw about 50,000 tourists to the area from around the world each year, pouring up to $5 million into the local economy.
 
Mr. Campbell said tour groups from Germany organize trips each year to Myra Canyon for the rugged beauty and stunning views down to Okanagan Lake, about 1,000 metres down from the trestles.
 
Gwendolyn Richards.