Our Fire Patrol has been getting a rough ride in the last week from off-island partiers on the beach. As soon as our guys walk away after extinguishing a fire the beach rats taunt them and light up another one. With no RCMP on island the punks figure that they have free reign to flaunt the fire ban.
Last night at 2AM we had enough of the disrespect of both our patrollers and the fire ban, and when the idiots refused to do without a fire, we rolled our trucks and showed up with a bunch of firefighters and a 1000 gallon per minute pump. That sent them scurrying like vermin. The disaster that they left was shocking and the photos don’t do it justice. Many glass bottles had been tossed into the fire where they had broken and been buried under burning coals; beer cans and liquor bottles were strewn as far as they could be thrown.
We pulled as much of the glass as we could out of the fire before putting it out. We then hosed down the surrounding area to make it as wet and unpleasant as possible in an attempt to keep them from returning that night. At least one had injured her foot on broken glass while fleeing, and we were able to track some of them down at the campsite where we got some
names, license plate numbers, and contact inf
o. More as that develops.
My condolences. Why is the RCMP not there? I thought you had a constant summer police presence.
Where are the RCMP? How many years does this have to go on – the Community, especially the Hornby Island fire department and fire patrol being required to manage the out of control beach parties on Big Tribune?
We need year-round policing and adequate daily policing in the summer.
The community has a history of doing its part – meetings, planning, preparing, closing the Co-op liquor store early on August long week-end and requesting adequate summer policing.
Thanks for the posting this info and photos.
This is why we need Police on the island.It seems a shame to have to waste our precious water and human resources on these fools.What if we needed that water and those people somewhere else at that moment ? I am happy our guys dealt with these idiots…but this is police work.We pay lots of taxes here.It would be nice to have the correct services.
I’m proud of the continuing good work that our Fire Patrollers do! The problem is too great for these good souls to manage on their own – the community has to support them. Actively!
For one thing . . . press charges for goodness sake! There has been too much pussy-footing about beach partying and fires – especially during a Fire Ban. Hornby’s polite “kid gloves” treatment of these boneheads is broadly known among the Party-razzi, and the word has spread for years that Hornby is a consequence-free zone. Even our Islands Trustee and our local Parks Staff even cited Tribune Bay beach as attractive to sexual predators in a CBC interview. Predators feed on parties.
Is it hurting us enough to act yet?
Just a couple of $345 tickets and a single $10,000 fine would ALSO be telegraphed to the party promoters at Facebook Speed too. They ALL talk. We’re in charge of the message – handwringing and moaning does nothing.
Most of Tribune Bay beach is the responsibility of RLC Management (with RCMP backup if and when they’re here) – though their staff infrequently show the required resolve to get tough on liquor, fires and partiers. In the past, RLC’s local representative admonished (in a public Facebook posting on the internet for the world to see) that Beach Partiers at Tribune Bay Beach be Sneaky – and only bring booze onto the beach COVERTLY! In the real world – such a breach of trust would have at least brought public outrage – if not jail time.
There were no material consequences.
It’s our island – and we’re happy to share it with people who come here to enjoy the beauty, not those who would despoil it.
“Barking amongst ourselves” does nothing. Communicate with the RCMP, BC Parks, the CVRD, the Islands Trust and RLC Management. In that radio interview, it was commented that families can feel intimidated on Tribune Bay beach with some of the loutish behavior on display. We’re nearing a tipping point – to whom do we want Tribune Bay beach to be attractive? Partiers? Predators? Families?
Please write (as I have!) and express your feelings to the powers that be.
Every letter or email that you DON’T write gives officialdom another reason to continue to do very little.
Our Fire Dept is amazing – so many calls lately so well handled – plus a first rate pancake breakfast enjoyed by 500+! Thank you!
The situation at Tribune Bay is steadily improving year by year. There were minimal problems the August long weekend. The only real problems have been after 1am the past few nights when some assume they can get away with stuff because the Parks Patrol, Fire Patrol and RCMP are no loner patrolling. However, last night we WERE patrolling and the Fire Dept was ready, willing and able to back us up., which they did. At the same time, there was a group hanging on the bluff of Helliwell. They were also turfed out. Yes, it would make a difference if we had constant RCMP presence. I will be checking Helliwell and Tribune both before and after midnight tonight. We are collectively making progress. What was a regular occurrence is only occasional now – though each occurrence is one two may I terms of the actual and potential impacts. I spent an hour today sifting the sand for glass and another hour scouring the Helliwell bluffs for bottles etc on the tinder-dry grass, that might start a fire.
Thanks Kevin, I agree. Consequences are what is going to shut down the behavior.
Definitely disagree with year round policing. We need help with the summer goon factor, not harassing respectful locals with a load of micromanagement from Sep-June.
yup.
For 35 years, Ive been amazed that “EatMore” chocolate bars have always proclaimed that they’re – “now 30{99e9ada67dac39a50d0f689a42cd9e161cfeac89d8ef38f636e75bc823e6d3b2} Bigger” – though to my practiced chocolate-eating eye, they are smaller than long ago. A credibility gap – no?
For many years – year by year – the Police and Park Watchers have proclaimed that The Tribune Bay Park Party Scene is getting Better and Better, yet somehow it just seems worse. The uncontrolled riot two years ago, the 1,000 liquor pour-outs on a single one-way cop-walk (last year?), a largest-ever log-fire last year, requiring a firefighting truck on the beach, with foam. Last night’s “water cannon” callout!
We may be an aging population, perhaps with short-term memory problems – but “facts recalled are facts recalled”.
We may be paying for a program to control loutish beach behaviour here on Hornby . . . but proclamations that it’s better . . . we’re not buying it! Particularly when Thursday is the new Friday – when the “cops are not on the island – and the cruiser is parked at Ford Cove. Party time!
Just ask our overworked Fire Patrollers – God bless ’em!
The situation HAS improved over the years, I know because I am usually down @ Lix doing the nightly cleaning/stocking routine. I would go as far to say there is 1/8th the teens out at night as 10 years ago. Year round policing? There are no drunk Hornby kids at the beach Sep-June. Just because we have one bad week in a summer, Does not make the beach a dangerous place to be.
Just a thought…
Don’t go hurling this at the RCMP; do you have any idea how much over time they log in the summer here. And are you aware of the issues they have been dealing with on Denman this summer. Do you think there are unlimited resources for policing..? Do you think there are no issues to deal with in the Comox Valley..? Do you really think a tax base of 900 people is enough to support year round services..?
We’ll get this sorted out, when having “proof of accommodations” is a mandatory check at Buckley Bay, during the summer.
As to year round policing… really, is that what you moved here for..? There are other more secure communities. Just sayin’…
Every time I hear the sky is falling in the summer, I think, you should have been here for some of the May Long Weekends in the early 80’s, now that was crazy.
I’m going to throw out the same suggestion I did to the community of Whistler, after their terrible May Long Weekend this year… COMMUNITY GROUPS… groups of locals walking down the beach with their kids and dogs, calmly introducing themselves to the kids, asking them politely to be aware of children coming down to play in the morning and “please take care of your recyclables”.
Tribune Bay is a rite of passage, I did mine 30 years ago, back when “we” policed the beach, before the RCMP were stationed here. Must say, we had infinitely more style and couth than many of the young manglers do today.
If you want change to come quicker… you have to be the change. And it can’t some holy crusade of rightous indignation… you gotta be your best inner Buddha, polite, approachable, informative and in groups of happy smilin’ locals out for a walk on their home turf. Imagine that getting back to the party crews…
“Well, these locals came up and sat down with us as the sun was setting… let us know some of the islands history… showed us where they had buckets of water stashed, so we could take care of our fire when we left…”
Next year Vancouver is investigating the possibility of allowing drinking on the beaches. How..? By increasing the fines for public drunkingness to $500.
Things are getting better.
Hornby is always going to be a place for a good party, we can help adjust who shows up. Heck, the Natives used to throw down on Hornby… they never really lived here, they celebrated here. And some of them were massacred here too, on Tribune Bay.
I lived on Spray Point for a couple of summers, a few years back and it has never been so bad as the August Long Weekend of the Drunkin’ Teenage Walking Zombies.
Hysteria and using “we” when purporting to speak for us, does not contribute to a constructive diatribe for solving our problem. It increases the reliance on “they” taking care of us and further separates the “them” who have a right to enjoy the land sold to the government by the Stonehouse’s, that became Tribune Bay Park.
This is simply my opinion.
Thanks for keeping the Island safe Hornby Fire Department. And to all of you having to deal with the drunkin’ teenage manglers, September is only 3 weeks away. Let’s have a party then.
I hear what you are saying.Except our tax base is not 900 people …9oo full-time residents paying the full-time resident rate…
All the 2nd homes are taxed at the highest rate.And a lot of the houses here are 2nd homes.There is a lot of property tax dollars coming off Hornby .
Why are we paying exhorbitant taxes for non-existing services like RCMP then? We pay almost 5 times the taxes on Hornby than we do on our off-island house and we have every service available. The cops used to be there over the summer. It’s scarey during these droughts that no-one other than local people are available to patrol and thank Gawd they are. Thank you to the “volunteer fire department and local patrols” for keeping us safe.
dear Hyundai residence… Unfortunately we visited your island this weekend to look for property with a realtor. I must say we’ve been looking at many locations Western Canada even in Mexico… And everyone we encountered was senselessly rude. We are generally well received and personable people. we saw many others being similarly abused which rude and sarcastic behavior. It seems no one is having a good time on Hornby Island and that is quite surprising. Of course if you’re looking to buy real estate and something like this happens it’s a very good indication but you’re not in the right place and we laughed and accepted that for what it was. I have been told about your annual ritual of gathering on the docks to waive the tourists goodbye….symbolically I suppose. it sounded something like something out of a creepy Stephen King novel. I hope for your sake what you find another way for awhile at least give yourself a break to garner income for your little island… From what we heard many visitors will not be returning.
sorry about the Hyandai comment… My phone seems to be having a mind of its own lately… Of course I meant to say Hornby Island residents. there is 1 more comment actually and it pertains to the the old saying that you will find what you left behind. So thankyou dear hornby people… This was good fodder for the journaling and I must say an interesting learning experience trying to figure out how we managed to offend so many people. By the way we are in our sixties and buddhists. Blessings to all of you