A close call at Thetis Lake has prompted calls for the return of lifeguards at Thetis Lake.
View Royal Mayor, David Screech, has renewed his calls for lifeguards at Thetis Lake during the busy summer months. "It just makes sense to me that we would have lifeguards in the busy summer months."
Screech says the town objected to the CRD when Lifeguards were removed in 2003 and he says it's just luck two international students got help from several paddle boarders or Tuesday's near drowning could have been fatal. "It was just luck that there were some people there and that they were able to help them and save their lives but it could have been a terrible outcome."
Screech says the lifeguard program was dropped because of funding and the difficulty of finding qualified people who could perform the duties for June; July and August.
There were also complications when lifeguards became distracted by other by-law infractions like partying and open liquor in the area.