After years of problems over the August long-weekend, the situation on Savary Island continues to improve.
For the past four years, Powell River RCMP and Savary Island Volunteer Fire Department (SIVFD) have worked together to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for the alcohol-induced problems seen historically over the BC Day weekend.
Bud Graham is president of the Association of the Savary Island Committee (ASIC), a group that represents property owners on the small northern gulf island off the coast from Lund.
Despite the fact the August long weekend has traditionally been a time for seasonal cabin owners and campers to flock to the island, the situation started to worsen on Savary more than a decade ago, with issues at South Beach being particularly troubling.
Graham said the partiers would arrive on the beach by the boatfuls loaded with alcohol for the party.
Public intoxication, fights and other disturbances, as well as vehicle theft and reckless driving were not uncommon, he said, and few partiers paid any attention to campfire bans on the island.
“One of the deathly fears of residents on the island is fire,” said Graham. “You’ve got a bunch of people camping on South Beach with their fires up in the logs and all it takes is a spark to get up into the dry grass and broom and the fire would race up that hill and take out all the houses at the top.”
When the party was over, volunteers would have to clean up the mess, often picking up hundreds of kilograms of garbage and recyclables from the beach. Without public washrooms on the island, the amount of human waste left behind has also been a growing problem.
In 2009 Graham said ASIC decided to call for help.
It lobbied the RCMP to step up their presence on the island over that weekend. Graham said that at the time the committee was told by Powell River’s then Staff Sergeant Andy Brinton that change would not happen overnight and could take as long as five years to happen.
Together, the RCMP and the SIVFD patrolled Sutherland beach, the north beaches, and South Beach applying a zero-tolerance policy for public alcohol consumption and illegal campfires.
“During the first couple of years, the RCMP poured out several thousand dollars worth of liquor each year from underage people,” said Graham.
By 2012 ASIC was already seeing significant improvement with the problems associated with the BC Day weekend.
“We’re very happy with the effort of the RCMP and with what they have done,” said Graham. “We’ve seen a steady decline in the amount of problems associated with that weekend. We’re well on our way toward that change of culture.”
Powell River RCMP Constable Tim Kenning said the police, with the help of SIVFD, will be on the island again this year, the fifth year since stepping up their August long-weekend presence, conducting patrols and “will be implementing a far tougher enforcement approach than in previous years.”
Consuming liquor in a public place carries a fine of $230 and liquor being unlawfully kept or consumed is subject to seizure by police, Kenning added.
Graham said that because the island does not have trash disposal services, visitors are requested to pack their garbage out with them and take advantage of recycling services offered by Powell River Regional District in Lund.
