The City of Courtenay is taking action to remove a dangerous tree from the Puntledge River.
Earlier this month, the City was made aware of a large Black Cottonwood tree which is lodged downstream of the Condensory Bridge.
As this tree is a hazard for people swimming and tubing in the river, the city reached out to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as a local environmental consultant.
Since then, the project team has been working together to develop a plan to safely remove this tree.
Work is expected to begin tomorrow.
Mayor Bob Wells is urging everyone to try to be extra careful if you’re tubing along that part of the river while the work is being done.
“Just be really cautious if you are going down the river,” Wells said. “Right now, people really enjoy tubing down the river, it’s one of my favourite things to do, especially with my kids. But right now, we’re just asking people to have that extra caution as we get ready to remove this tree and obviously while we’re removing it. So, if you’re going down there, especially with kids and stuff, be extra, extra cautious right now.”
The city says this is a complex task, and the work is expected to continue for two or three days.
