'It’s specialized work': Truro’s Victoria Park remains closed for Fiona cleanup

A treasured piece of Truro, N.S., continues to be off-limits to the public since post-tropical storm Fiona hit.

While it was just over a month ago when the storm rolled over the Maritimes, the town is still clearing the damage it left behind.

Massive trees that towered over trails in Victoria Park have toppled over the ravine and are clinging to the banks.

“When we had Hurricane Juan, it took out one side of the park and [now] with Fiona, it took out the other part,” says Truro Mayor Bill Mills.

The town says it had to hire outside contractors to deal with the damage. With many of the trees on ridges, contractors will be repelling into Victoria Park and cutting the trees down.

Since removing the trees has become a massive undertaking, the town is expecting to spend a lot of money on recovery. The town hopes to recover the financial loss by selling timber and applying for the disaster financial assistance program.

“It’s specialized work. They are going to use cables to take the logs out. It’s expensive, so we will be applying for whatever we can through the timber sales and funding from the province to offset the costs,” said Mike Dolter, CAO of Truro.

Many of the trees have fallen over trails and bridges.

The town says that it is still dangerous for people to be walking beyond the barricades.

“It is causing an issue with some of our workers, because they are concerned that people could get hurt,” said Dolter. “We are asking that people be safe and we will have the park open as quickly as possible.”

People will be able to access the park starting next month.

The town estimates that will take up to 10 years for the park to look like it did before Fiona.