THUNDER BAY — Fort William Historical Park remains closed to the public after being inundated with floodwater from the Kaministiquia River.
The flooding started last week when the river spilled its banks during the spring thaw and periods of heavy rain.
Details about any damage were not disclosed in a brief statement issued Wednesday to Dougall Media by the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries.
Park staff were not available to speak to reporters, who were instead referred to the ministry's communications section.
Video posted to YouTube by David MacGowan shows the grounds of the entire fort submerged at one point, but a ministry spokesperson said the water has receded "significantly" in the last few days.
According to the statement, park employees are now on site completing "the necessary cleanup" for the park to reopen.
The park's 50 farm animals were relocated to higher ground before the flooding.
Items of value such as historic tools were also removed to safe areas.
The park was scheduled to start its regular seasonal hours this weekend, but that's now delayed until further notice.
In the meantime, the ministry spokesperson said, staff are consulting with regulatory authorities including the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority and Ontario Power Generation – which operates two hydroelectric generating stations on the Kam River – as they monitor water levels in the days ahead.
A spokesperson for OPG calls the waterflow this spring "one for the record books."
Dwayne Korchak, director of plant operations, said water levels like this haven't been seen in some time, but the volume is now receding.
Korchak said even though OPG has been working closely with the Fort and other stakeholders to mitigate flooding, some things are out of its control.
"We're trying to ensure what we do to generate power on the system isn't impacting others while dealing with the amount of inflows into the system...A lot of it is coming from uncontrolled lakes and rivers that flow into the Kam such as the Slate, the Whitefish and the Matawin, which are contributing greatly to the Kam River."
Fort William Historical Park is an authentic reconstruction of an 1816 fur-trading post.
Situated on 250 acres at Pointe de Meuron, the site has experienced significant flooding on several occasions since it opened in 1973.
More than $20 million was spent on flood-related repairs and prevention over the years.
