Lumber to construct moving crates is landing at two Island lightstations earmarked for destaffing, as opponents continue to fight to preserve a human presence on the remote west coast stations.
Sheets of plywood, two-by-fours and instructions on crate assembly were dropped off by helicopters at Pachena Bay and Carmanah lightstations on Sept. 4, Canadian Coast Guard spokesperson Kiri Westnedge said.
The four lightkeepers at the two stations have accepted jobs at other stations, Westnedge said.
The coast guard announced at the end of July that it would be removing lightkeepers from the Carmanah and Pachena Bay lightstations because some buildings are not safe to use due to poor soil conditions.
Opponents of the move are questioning why replacement residential buildings can’t be built nearby.
Both stations are adjacent to the West Coast Trail, which is raising questions about the safety of hikers once the keepers are gone.
While aids to navigation will remain at the stations, supporters of the lightkeepers say it’s important to have people on hand to assist mariners and hikers, as they have done many times in the past.
They’ve won support from the Alberni Clayoquot Regional District, which submitted an emergency resolution to the Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting, being held in Vancouver this week, calling on the federal government to reverse plans to remove lightkeepers from the two stations. The UBCM’s executive met Sunday and agreed to consider that resolution at the meeting.
The Canadian Union of Transportation Employees, which represents lightkeepers, Island NDP MPs Gord Johns and Alistair MacGregor, First Nations and others are also calling on federal Fisheries Minister Diane Labouthillier to put the brakes on the plan.
Mike Blake, owner of MB Guiding, who saw the lumber for crates at the Carmanah lighthouse on Sept. 5 while leading a group along the trail, said the coast guard’s decision to remove lightkeepers “just seemed fast” and was done without public consultation.
“What’s going to happen next? That’s what I’m curious about. What’s the backup plan here?”
Lightkeepers have helped hikers for many decades, including providing information about trail conditions, he said. “It’s really nice to have somebody’s eyes on the actual weather and get a human interpretation of that.”
Val Burton, founder of the 40,000-member West Coast Trail page on Facebook, was part of a group that started a petition to the House of Commons urging that lightkeepers remain at the stations.
“It’s nice to know that safety net is there,” said the Lantzville woman, who has hiked the trail four times.
Barry Tchir, vice-president for the Pacific region for the Canadian Union of Transportation Employees, said the vital job of keepers includes maintaining helicopter pads to make sure they can land safely, and sheltering people who have been rescued while they wait for a helicopter to arrive.
“If the keepers were not there, the [helicopter] pad would become overgrown and unsafe and there would be no proper shelter, food and clean blankets at this station.”
In a recent case, a group of Alberta students hiking stopped into a lightstation on the North Coast Trail after losing a large portion of their food supplies, Tchir said. They left with a care package of food plus fishing supplies to replace lost gear.
Husband and wife lightkeeper team Leslie and Roger Williamson, now retired, worked on 15 light stations, including Pachena, ending with a dozen years on Chrome Island in Baynes Sound, off the southeast tip of Denman Island.
Leslie said in her time on the lights, she saw everything from bee stings to broken bones and life-saving rescues. She recalled one private airline company which would call every morning for weather reports to decide whether to fly or not.
The destaffing plan is “ridiculous,” she said, since lightkeepers regularly assist mariners and help save lives.
She recalled an instance about seven years ago on Chrome Island when Roger and an assistant keeper heard a voice crying for help.
They followed the sound — down 75 stairs — to find a man clinging to the bottom of an overturned vessel, Roger said.
The water was too rough for them to go out in the lightstation’s boat, so they called for help, and crew on a nearby B.C. Ferries vessel pulled the man out of the water. “He kept passing out,” Roger said. “He was totally hypothermic.”
They brought the man to the station, where he was given warm clothes and “big hugs” to help warm his body before being flown out and taken to hospital.
One year when the Williamsons were at Pachena lightstation, there were three medical emergencies on opening day for the West Coast Trail’s season, and the Parks Canada boat ran out of gas, which they filled up, Leslie said.
The coast guard supports automated lightstations but automated towers can’t see boats overturned in the water, she said.
“Ottawa doesn’t appreciate what lightkeepers do on this coast.”
