TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
OKTOBERFEST
LITERACY
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FIRST SATURDAY
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THE BULLETIN PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 81, Issue 186 | www.dailybulletin.ca
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Millions spent to repair East Kootenay backroads
Mause Creek, Meachen Creek, Bull River forestry roads have been fixed after the devastating damage from the June floods SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
An astounding amount of work has been done on the East Kootenay’s backcountry roads since the June 2013 floods that caused $5.5 million worth of damage. More than 50 sites and 30 bridges were damaged during the torrential rainstorms that hit the area in late June. Since that time, staff at the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
The bridge at 96km on the Bull River Forest Service Road was installed in 2012. At left: the river bottom rose after the floods to almost graze the bottom of the bridge. Right: Debris and stones were removed from the Bull River to keep the bridge clear. have been working virtually non-stop to repair roads that access logging operations, hunting areas and popular hikes. Dave Rebagliati, an engineer with the Rocky Mountain Forest District, said they have been able to do “quite a bit more” than they expected to achieve in
a few short summer months. “I haven’t had a lot of time off, but we are getting everything put back together,” he said. “Some of the roads aren’t fixed 100 per cent but at least it’s open to the public. For industrial use, we’ve got a bit more work to do, but we’re not hold-
ing anything up there right now.” By the time the snow flies, the ministry will have spent close to $1.5 million to fix the unprecedented damage to the East Kootenay’s forestry roads, according to Rebagliati. “We were able to get a bit more funding
than I originally thought. My counterparts in the north were able to forego some projects until next year, so they freed up some money for us.” Work will continue for several weeks yet, he said. “I hope Mother Nature will let us work until at the least the
middle of October if not longer than that.” On the Bull River Forest Service Road, washouts were repaired at 92 km and 94 km. “The Bull River Forest Service Road is open to Munroe Lake. There is some temporary fixes in there, but it is definitely open
enough for public traffic,” said Rebagliati. Bridges on the Elk River Forest Service Road were repaired at 125km, 140km and 145km. “We put a temporary bridge in at 145km and we’ve straightened out a lot of the washouts. See ROADS, page 4
BEAR AWARE
Grizzly, elk kill on Lois Creek Trails
Residents asked to stay off trails to give bear time to move on C AROLYN GR ANT bulletin@cyberlink.ca
Another grizzly is lurking around the edges of Kimberley, this time in the Lois
Creek Trails area. On Saturday, September 21, a jogger reported seeing an elk kill. The kill site was within the Lois Creek Trails area, a spot that sees a high volume of mountain bike/hiking traffic. Townsite resident, hiking enthusiast and City Councillor Darryl Oakley called Conservation Officers, realizing that there was likely a bear around the kill. He led CO Jeff Scott into the area of Florence’s Gully Saturday afternoon.
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“We didn’t know exactly where the kill was but had a pretty good idea, after receiving information earlier on Saturday morning.” said Oakley. “Just as we approached the kill there was a movement that I just caught out of the corner of my eye. There was a grizzly lying on top of the elk.” The kill site was only a few meters off the trail at the north end of Florence’s Gully. “As Jeff approached the kill site, the grizzly immediately retreated into the heavy
underbrush,” he said. ”Because the bear left the kill site, the CO then determined that it would be possible to remove the partially buried elk carcass from the Lois Creek Trails. Completely removing the food source would then encourage the grizzly to move on.” Both men backed out of the kill site, Oakley says, and called another CO —Ray Gilewicz — to assist.
See GRIZZLY, Page 4
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