In 2003, forest fires ravaged parts of the Okanagan near Kelowna, destroying much in their path, including 270 houses and 26,000 hectares of land.
 
And although Canadian Pacific (CP) railway operations in the area were decommissioned in the 1970s, the fires managed to devastate an important piece of our history, The Myra Canyon trestles of the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR).
 
Built by CP in the early 1900s, the KVR provided vital access to many mines in the British Columbia interior at a time when the industry was booming.
 
After the last train whistled through the area, people started to view the Kettle Valley Railway as a prime hiking location, and the line became populated by another booming industry in the area, tourism.
 
The KVR quickly became a popular spot for hikers and bicyclists in the Okanagan area and is now part of the Trans-Canada Trail.
 
The 2003 fires all but destroyed the recreation opportunities in and around the section of the KVR near Kelowna, since 12 of the 16 Myra Canyon trestles, a vital link in the pathway, had been badly damaged.
 
Luckily, the KVR, named a National Historic Site prior to the fire, was eligible for funding from the federal and provincial governments to aid with the restoration.
 
Kelowna engineering firm, Earth Tech Canada, was hired to do the design work, and interestingly, two of the consultants on the project, James Klett and Barry Lidstone, are CP pensioners, while another, Kevin Witzke, is also a former CP employee.
 
Working side by side with Earth Tech was John Unsworth, CP manager of structures, planning, and design, who was the structural engineer on the project and designed the new trestles.
 
Though modern structures were considered, the engineering team decided that the route should be restored as closely as possible to its original state, complete with timber trestles, the tallest of which is 40 metres high.
 
As Kevin said to Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine in a recent interview, "The project's ultimate achievement is to preserve the heritage value of the Myra Canyon and honour the engineering feats of the railway builders at the beginning of the 20th century".
 
The design was well-received.
 
It won an Award of Merit from the Consulting Engineers of British Columbia in 2006.
 
Myra Canyon's new trestles officially opened to the public amid much celebration on 22 Jun 2008.
 
Hundreds of interested visitors dropped by to view a display that was prepared for the official opening day of the project, eager to take a step back in time at this historic spot.
 
Author unknown.