1 June 2010

Wildfire Inside Condemned Okanagan Tunnel Will Have to Burn Itself Out

The Adra tunnel.

Naramata British Columbia - Fire crews have been forced to let a wildfire burn inside a historic tunnel on the Kettle Valley Railway trail system.
 
The fire inside the Adra Tunnel near Naramata, B.C., was spotted by a forest officer on Sunday.
 
But concerns over smoke inhalation and the out-of-use tunnel's unstable roof have made it impossible for fire crews or officials to enter, either to try to put it out, or to find out how it was sparked.
 
"The B.C. Wildfire Management Branch is monitoring the situation to ensure the fire does not spread," said fire information officer Kayla Pepper in a release Tuesday.
 
Pepper said smoke will be visible in the area "for days to come" as the wildfire continues to burn itself out.
 
The Adra Tunnel is part of the Kettle Valley Railway trail system, parts of which had to be rebuilt after the devastating Okanagan wildfires of 2003.
 
The nearly half-kilometre-long tunnel itself has been closed to the public and is bypassed by the popular KVR hiking and biking trail. Parts of its roof are prone to collapse and it is subject to flooding in some places.