Fire chief to beachgoers: Beware this summer’s ‘aggressive’ Port Stanley currents

Article content

EDITOR’S NOTE: CTV London is reporting police have recovered a body from Lake Erie at Port Stanley shortly before 3 p.m. on Tuesday

PORT STANLEY – Lake Erie currents along Port Stanley’s main beach are stronger and more dangerous than usual this summer, posing an increased risk to swimmers, the community’s fire chief said among the ongoing search for a missing teen.

Article content

Four swimmers were rescued off the main beach Monday night – one day after a 14-year-old London boy didn’t resurface, sparking an ongoing search – in a startling two-day period that should underscore for visitors the need to prioritize safety, Central Elgin fire Chief Ray Ormerod said.

“The current has changed direction and it’s aggressive” this summer, he said, adding the fire department is looking at ways to better mark where to swim to improve safety.

Different erosion patterns in the Great Lakes affect currents, he said, adding that winds impact wave patterns and currents, too. “There are changes to the sand and silt, year after year, and now we’re seeing stronger currents.”

There were few visitors at the main beach on Tuesday afternoon. A red flag flew from lifeguard stands indicating a “high hazard” and warning people to not enter the water. A fire truck and Ontario Provincial Police vehicle was at the beach as the search for the missing 14-year-old swimmer – identified by family friends as Omar – continued.

Eric and Terri Giberson were at the beach for the day with their daughters, ages 10 and 12, but weren’t aware of the two recent incidents. They said they take directions from lifeguards as a precaution when at the beach.

Article content

Article content

“We always take direction from the lifeguards anyway, regardless of what happened,” Eric said. “If we thought the water was too rough, we wouldn’t go in.”

Terri Giberson said the family noticed the red flag when they arrived. “Based on what we heard right now, we probably will just enjoy the sun and the sand.”

There are about 25 life guards employed to monitor the main beach and about 15 working on any one day. They end their shifts at 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 p.m. on weekends.

At about 9 p.m. Monday, two swimmers, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old from Belmont, were reported in distress and another two, a 34-year-old from London and a 42-year-old from Belmont, entered the water to help, but also struggled.

Central Elgin firefighters launched an eight-metre lifeboat and a personal watercraft and pulled all four from the water. No serious injuries were reported.

The swimmers were in the water between two lifeguard towers and not near the break wall, where the 14-year-old London youth disappeared one day prior.

Article content

“The current is strong around the break wall. All of the water flows into there and is pulled back out. The water pushes toward the break wall,” Ormerod said of why the current is particularly dangerous there.

It’s believed there have only been two drownings at Port Stanley over the last two decades, in 2004 and in 2016.

Omar, the boy who went missing on Sunday, recently graduated from Grade 8 at Emily Carr elementary school and was going to attend Mother Teresa secondary school, his family said. A Thames Valley District school board official declined comment, but noted trauma counsellors are “available to support staff and students that require it.”

ndebono@postmedia.com

bwilliams@postmedia.com

Article content