Preparations are underway in Sparwood, B.C., for a memorial service that will honour the eight men who died in several avalanches earlier this week in the province's interior.

As many as 7,000 people will attend the service on Sunday morning, creating what is expected to be a "logistical nightmare" for the small town of 4,000 in B.C.'s southeast corner.

The mayor of Sparwood, David Wilks, said he expects people will be travelling from nearby towns, including Elkford and Fernie, and from as far away as Calgary to attend the service.

A seven-block perimeter leading to Sparwood Arena, where the service is scheduled to take place, will be closed and people will be shuttled in by buses.

Wilks said he hopes the service will provide everyone with a sense of closure over the disaster.

"It is going to bind this community even tighter than it already is. It is going to show solidarity toward the families that we will be with them for the next days, months and years to come. And it is also an opportunity for the public to have a grieving session for the collective eight and to show the families that we are in a position of great mourning as well."

Wilks said he saw Jeff Adams, one of the three survivors, at a private memorial held on Friday and believes the grieving process for the survivors may be just beginning.

"I think as the days are going by here, just because of the numbness of all the events that are taking place, I don't know if it's really hit them."

Other community initiatives include the planting of trees and the erecting of a memorial this spring after consultation with the community. Two trust funds were also set up for the families of the victims.

Eleven men were caught in two avalanches Sunday when they were out snowmobiling near Fernie, B.C.

Three men managed to dig themselves out, and they collectively decided it was too unsafe to try to dig out their eight friends. The three were later rescued by helicopter.

After an exhaustive search of the area over two days, the bodies of the eight men were recovered. All of the men involved in the incident were experienced snowmobilers.