Barkerville Historic Town & Park is set to reopen Aug. 2. after its evacuation due to the Antler Creek fire.
"Programming and merchant operations will once again enliven the streets of of Western North America's largest living history museum," Barkerville announced in a news release. "Barkerville will be keeping its campgrounds, cottages and guest houses closed for the time being with tentative plans in place to reopen bookings in mid-August."
The historic town announced while it will be reopening its regular operations, they have made the decision to cancel their August events including the Indigenous Peoples' Celebration which was slated for Aug. 17 and the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival which was planned to be held Aug. 24.
Potential visitors still may see smoke from the nearby Antler Creek fire which caused a closure of the park, but the evacuation alert has been lifted.
"In consultation with the authorities, Barkerville’s gates will be open when deemed safe, and closed if anything changes. Safety comes first, for Barkerville, our staff, and our visitors, which means being prepared for all eventualities wherever people travel throughout the Pacific Northwest," Barkerville CEO Kate Cox noted.
Barkerville closed July 21 after an evacuation order was put in place from the Cariboo Regional District. The nearby Antler Creek fire came as close as three kilometres to the park. Some of the historic town's most precious artifacts were moved out once smoke became visible out of an abundance of caution. The site's buildings were doused with water from sprinklers to help keep them safe from the fire.
Visitors who want to stay in the region overnight can book accomodation in nearby Wells or Bowron Lake which also faced evacuation orders due to the fire. The Historic St. George Hotel within Barkerville will also be accepting bookings.
The Antler Creek fire is still deemed to be a fire of note by the BC Wildfire Service. It was discovered July 20 and the cause of the blaze is believed to be a lightning strike.
