5 charged for disobeying B.C. provincial park closure, conservation officers say

The Conrad Kain Hut in Bugaboo Provincial Park. (BC Parks/Destination BC)

A group of hikers and rock climbers was charged under B.C.’s Park Act this week after allegedly failing to comply with the public-safety-related closure of a provincial park.

The five people – a mixed group of Ontario and B.C. residents – were reportedly refusing to leave Bugaboo Provincial Park after flooding prompted its partial closure on Sunday, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said in a social media post Friday.

Conservation officers flew into the closed area by helicopter in response to reports of the people defying the closure order.

They located the group and issued eviction notices to all five people, ordering them to immediately depart, which they did.

“The COS and BC Parks would like to remind the public that such closures are in place to ensure public safety and enforcement action will be taken as necessary,” the service said in its post.

More than 60 people were airlifted from the East Kootenay park as a result of the flooding, according to the Alpine Club of Canada and a local search-and-rescue group.

• Read more: Flooding forces evacuation, closure in B.C. provincial park