Is vigilance keeping pace as interest in storm watching on B.C.'s West Coast keeps rolling?

It's been nearly 10 years since a seven-year-old boy was believed to have been swept from a beach near Tofino B.C., never to be found.

Officials hope safety measures developed since then will help keep others safe as the number of people who come to the West Coast town to view powerful waves crashing into rocks and beaches increases.

William Pilkenton was last seen on Tonquin Park Beach, south of Tofino, while on holiday in February, 2008 with his parents from Bellingham, Washington. 

Searchers who looked for him said he went missing during a time when large strong waves were surging into shore.

"It was large swell," said Randy Mercer, the visitor safety technician with Parks Canada at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Mercer helped in the search for Pilkenton but the boy was never found.

Storm watching visitors

At the time, Pilkenton's disappearance raised the issue of coastal safety. There has not been a similar death in area since then, according to Mercer.

As more people visit to watch storms, "we've really had to kind of try to come up with ways to help educate the public," said Mercer.

Tourism Tofino says hotel bookings for the month of February have increased by 17 per cent over the last three years.

Charles McDiarmid, the managing director of Tofino's Wickaninnish Inn, is glad there's an increased interest in storm watching in the area. The resort was developed in the mid-1990s to be a hub for big wave watching during winter months.

• AUDIO | Listen to Charles McDiarmid describe the experience of storm watching

However, McDiarmid notes there are increased hazards that come with it. Heavy waves can wash much further up beaches with little warning.

"It is a very different beast from the summer to the winter," said McDiarmid about weather in Tofino. "We kind of say Dr. Jekyll checks out on Oct. 31 and Mr. Hyde checks in."

There are also dangers from logs, which can easily be tossed by heavy seas. Many beaches are littered with them. 

In January, images of seven-metre waves pounding beaches circulated widely after an extreme wave warning was issued. The images captured one of the most powerful storms in a decade.

Mercer said he saw many videos and pictures online depicting near misses of people too close to the action, but there were no accidents or injuries.

He now hopes to further promote a program that was launched in 2017 called CoastSmart, which highlights the hazards at beaches along the coastline from Tofino to Ucluelet. The program also provides instructions on how to safely watch waves.

• Coastal safety program comes to Pacific Rim Park

Mercer's goal is to get the materials onboard B.C. Ferries and at airports for people to see before they even arrive in the area.

He also wants to have local workers, who are often transient, to learn the materials so they can pass on the knowledge.

Extreme waves hit Tofino's shores

7 years ago

Duration 0:28

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is under an extreme wave warning.