Ten mature trees in a Kelowna park have been cut down, prompting an investigation by city officials and the RCMP.
The incident, which also involved damage to two additional trees at the city’s Mission Ridge Park, was discovered by staff last week following a report made by a nearby property owner.
Todd Cashin, Kelowna’s urban forestry manager, says the city is considering the offence an act of vandalism.
“We’re actually quite disappointed that someone went in and cut these trees down in a public park,” Cashin told CBC News.
The removal of the trees has raised concerns about increased erosion, especially with recent heavy rainfall in the Okanagan region.
Cashin says the trees played a vital role in stabilizing the park’s steep, sandy slopes, but now, with most of them destroyed, the area becomes vulnerable to erosion.
“The bigger concern is we’re seeing more and more weather events where we see high, high rainfall events or intense rainfall events that could cause more erosion,” Cashin added.
In a statement last week, the City of Kelowna said the downed trees could become fuel for fires, particularly as it becomes challenging for city officials to clean up the area due to the difficult terrain. The task is expected to be both complicated and costly.
City officials say they are taking the situation seriously.
“This is definitely, you know, this is a criminal act,” Cashin said.
Under Kelowna’s municipal bylaws, individuals found guilty of illegally cutting down or damaging city-owned trees could face fines of up to $50,000 per tree.
The City of Kelowna has called for public assistance in identifying those responsible for the vandalism.
Kelowna’s RCMP detachment has also launched an investigation.