Residents of Rose Hill and Juniper Ridge are invited to participate in self-driven tours of two of the three emergency evacuation routes in Juniper Ridge on Saturday, July 26, 2025.

Residents can register for the Juniper East emergency evacuation route from Kicking Horse Drive that connects to Valleyview Drive and the Coldwater Drive emergency route leading to High Canada Place in Rose Hill. The tours will take place between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm and will take approximately 5–15 minutes to complete. Registration is available online at Kamloops.ca/EvacuationRoutes.

“The Juniper Ridge neighbourhood is unique for emergency evacuation routes,” said Ty Helgason, the City’s Emergency Preparedness Manager. “They are gravel roads and cross over private property. The Juniper East route is lengthy, with multiple offshoots of other roads, making it crucial for residents to familiarize themselves with it. This exercise is an invaluable opportunity to understand where the routes begin and end and experience the different terrain and the road navigation, ensuring residents are prepared in case of an emergency.”

Vehicles will be led down the route by a pilot vehicle to limit speed and ensure driver safety. This will mimic the procedure used in an actual emergency. For these tours, vehicles are limited to cars, SUVs, and trucks.

“With the recent increase of residential development in Juniper Ridge, this opportunity aims to help new residents become acquainted with the routes,” Helgason added. “It is also beneficial for those who missed the 2023 tour and anyone seeking a refresher.”

Residents are advised that the tours are not mock evacuations. They are escorted, self-driven tours of the emergency evacuation routes, allowing staff to test their emergency procedures and to provide residents with drivable access to gain confidence and understand the routes.

In the event of an emergency, Highland Road—the only public road in and out of Juniper Ridge—will still be used to evacuate residents.

In the event of an emergency, designated City staff and emergency responders will determine the safest evacuation route for residents, depending on the emergency situation, and provide appropriate direction and traffic control to get residents out safely. The emergency evacuation route to be used will be travelled in advance of allowing public access to ensure the route is in safe condition at the time of the event, that there are no trees or obstructions across the road, and that the route is not at risk of compromise from the current emergency before unlocking the gates and escorting public traffic along the route.

Registration for the tours will close at 2:00 pm on Thursday, July 24. Residents who are unable to attend the tour can watch a video of the east and west emergency evacuation routes filmed in 2023 at Kamloops.ca/EvacuationRoutes.