Unseasonable snow forces campers out of northeastern B.C. provincial park

FORT NELSON, B.C. – A blast of unseasonable, snowy weather on the weekend forced the closure of one provincial park in northeastern British Columbia and prompted a recommendation to stay away from two others, but conditions are expected to ease soon.

A storm brought as much as 35 centimetres of snow to the Fort Nelson and Muncho Lake Park-Stone Mountain Park regions on the weekend.

An Environment Canada snowfall warning calling for a further four centimetres was still in effect Monday morning.

A notice posted on the Facebook page of Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park said the park was closed on Sunday and would remain so until further notice because the heavy, wet snow brought down numerous trees and more could come down.

The park borders the Alaska Highway just south of the Yukon boundary and is home to the largest natural hot springs in Canada.

The message tells travellers that the BC Parks website would be updated as soon as safety around the hot springs was addressed.

It also said similar conditions meant travelling was not advised in the nearby Muncho Lake or Stone Mountain provincial parks.

With temperatures forecast to climb to 18 C by Wednesday, parks officials responding to campers' online questions said the snow should melt quickly and normal service should resume as soon as downed trees are cleared.