A witness to a tragic is calling on Parks Canada to reinstate lifeguards at Lovekin Rock within the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
Vancouver resident Darleen Saxer told the Westerly News she was at Long Beach when the tragedy occurred and saw two surfers pulling a person out of the water near Lovekin Rock as bystanders raced to assist prior to paramedics arriving.
香蕉视频直播淢y heart goes out to the family香蕉视频直播 just really hope to see some sort of change to make it more welcoming to every level of surfer to the beach,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 something that could change somebody香蕉视频直播檚 life forever.香蕉视频直播�
Saxer said she did some research after witnessing the incident and learned about the rescues and tragedies that have occurred at Lovekin Rock, including two people who died in the area in 2018 and four people who were rescued off the rock via helicopter in 2019.
Surf Guards had been stationed at a tower overlooking Lovekin Rock for 40 years before budget cuts in 2012 prompted Parks Canada to cancel the program.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 actually really surprised that a National Park doesn香蕉视频直播檛 have a lifeguard on duty, especially at such a hot tourist location,香蕉视频直播� Saxer said, noting the Park Reserve sees over one million visitors a year. 香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 kind of shocking.香蕉视频直播�
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve superintendent Karen Haugen told the Westerly News via email that Parks Canada is 香蕉视频直播渄eeply saddened香蕉视频直播� by the tragedy, noting that BC Ambulance Service, Parks Canada staff and off-duty doctors, who were bystanders at the time of the incident, all responded to the scene.
香蕉视频直播淥ur hearts are with the family and friends of the victim,香蕉视频直播� Haugen said.
She added though that the Surf Guard program will not be returning.
香蕉视频直播淧arks Canada does not have plans to reinstate the surf guard service. Surfing is an activity that takes place year round in the Long Beach Unit and surrounding region. It is not sustainable to provide extensive supervision,香蕉视频直播� Haugen said. 香蕉视频直播淧arks Canada strives to educate visitors about ocean hazards and prevent tragedies from occurring. Water users are responsible for making informed decisions about ocean safety.香蕉视频直播�
She said Parks Canada has continued to expand its efforts to help visitors make informed decisions about ocean safety through education and prevention measures including, monitoring environmental conditions every day, determining the level of risk, sharing the information with visitors, and implementing risk reduction tactics like closures, if needed.
香蕉视频直播淒uring the summer months, this information is also shared by a team of Coastal Stewards. Coastal Stewards were working at Lovekin Rock at the time of the incident actively sharing information about ocean hazards with visitors,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淭hrough the CoastSmart program香蕉视频直播攄eveloped in collaboration with the Districts of Tofino and Ucluelet香蕉视频直播� standardized signs have been installed at key beach access locations throughout the Pacific Rim Region, including Lovekin Rock. There is additional signage at Lovekin Rock related to rip currents as it is a high-risk area.香蕉视频直播�
The Park Reserve also launched an Indigenous Junior Guardian program last year that provides safety information to visitors and more information about staying safe around the ocean is available at www.coastsmart.ca as well as the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve香蕉视频直播檚 social media channels.
Saxer said surfing is booming in popularity, especially with its arrival as an Olympic sport and that the Park Reserve needs to do more to help keep its growing number of visitors safe.
香蕉视频直播淚t needs to change. Knowing the risks, it香蕉视频直播檚 hard to allow myself to go back into the water but I can香蕉视频直播檛 imagine letting my children eventually go into the water and surf and there being this risk,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淭he (Junior Guardians) are doing their very best in terms of educating the population and the National Park has put up signs, but are people really stopping, looking at these, reading the stuff or understanding what is being told to them?香蕉视频直播�
She said it香蕉视频直播檚 impossible to know whether a lifeguard could have prevented Aug. 7香蕉视频直播檚 tragedy, but added that Parks Canada香蕉视频直播檚 response that the area is too large to provide Surf Guards misses the mark because the Surf Guard tower that was in place until 2012 overlooked the area of highest concern at Lovekin Rock.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 frustrating. It香蕉视频直播檚 very frustrating,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 have done more research on it and the response from Parks Canada is just not acceptable. There needs to be more change and it needs to happen now. If we wait seasons upon seasons for anything to come back or any changes to be made, it香蕉视频直播檚 going to be too late. How many more deaths do we need to have before change actually happens?香蕉视频直播�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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