Pemberton Music Festival says "no plans to cancel" due to forest fires

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      Today (July 7), the Pemberton Music Festival released the daily lineup for its 2015 edition, which runs July 16 to 19.

      But the proximity of the Elaho and Boulder Creek wildfires to Pemberton means it's not a sure thing that the festival will happen this year.

      However, organizers say, at this point, they plan to go ahead with the event, featuring Kendrick Lamar, Weezer, the Black Keys, J. Cole, and many more.

      "Public safety remains our number one priority," reads a statement issued today by the Pemberton Music Festival. "We continue to monitor the situation closely and communicate with authorities from the Village of Pemberton, Lil’wat Nation and SLRD.  At this time, with the current condition, direction and location of the fires, there are no plans to cancel the festival.  However, we cannot predict what Mother Nature has in store in the days to come, nor speculate what the situation will look like a week from now with regard to air quality or the proximity of the fires."

      Pemberton mayor Mike Richman told CBC the village north of Whistler is waiting to see what happens.

      "We haven't gone there [to talks of cancelling] yet, but we are having meetings with managers to determine the threshold," Richman told the national broadcaster.

      "If the fires become more of a threat, we certainly don't want to bring 30,000 extra people into the valley that might have to be evacuated."

      New Orleans-based HUKA Entertainment is promoting the festival, which promises "nearly 100 performances and six separate performance areas".

      The Boulder Creek fire, 23 kilometres northwest of Pemberton, covers an estimated 5,000 hectares and is zero percent contained.

      The Elaho fire, 67 kilometers west of Pemberton, involves 20,000 hectares and is also zero percent contained.

      A wildfire smoke advisory is currently in effect for the Sea to Sky corridor.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      as the old saying goes

      Jul 7, 2015 at 10:47pm

      The show must go on.

      Good luck...

      Jul 8, 2015 at 11:35am

      If the fires ever spread there or the smoke gets so bad that people die or suffer major injuries. Hope it was worth it....