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The Carmanah Lightstation, or lighthouse as it was called in those days, was established on Sept. 15, 1891, approximately 154 km from Victoria on the west coast of Vancouver, came to be known as the graveyard of the Pacific. Merchant sailing ships came to grief due to strong currents, heavy weather, thick fog and the lack of navigational aids.

Carmanah Point was built to be the guiding light for vessels in-bound to Juan de Fuca strait on their way to Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle. Coal for the power plant and lamp oil for the light had to be landed on the beach, either floated in or dropped off by surf boat (no highlines or helicopters in those days) and hauled up the hill to the station.

Every four hours the keeper had to attend to the tower light, cranking the counterweights to keep the lens turning and in thick weather stoking the boilers to power the fog horn. Now the station power is provided by diesel generator and the lens is electric with an electric motor to revolve the light.

Throughout the history of the station, the keepers and their families have maintained the light, fog horn and have come to the assistance of shipwrecked mariners. The station is situated on the West Coast Life Saving Trail, which was established to help shipwrecked sailors find help. The lightstations Carmanah Point, Pachena Point, and Cape Beale were, and are, part of that original safety net. As the years have gone by, the trail is mostly used by thousands of hikers from all over the world . Rarely does a shipwrecked sailor walk the trail in search of help.

The current lightkeeper families, the Etzkorns and the Hauers, maintain the station, its equipment and provide local weather information. They also provide assistance to the Pacific Rim Park wardens. It is their warm hospitality and assistance given to the hikers that has made them friends of people from all over the world.

A review of September incident log shows that they can be very busy at Carmanah. Aside from providing drinking water, information concerning local hazards and wildlife alerts to hikers, keepers provide minor first aid services for cuts and abrasions.

At other times they provide more serious first aid assistance.

They recently attended to a hiker with a separated shoulder, provided first aid and comfort, and contacting the park warden to arrange medevac. Jake and Justin, teen age children of the lightkeeper, hiked to Carmanah Creek to pack up the hiker's campground and bring his effects back to the station. They also helped another hiker with a broken ankle on the beach 1 km NW of the station, contacting the park wardens, who arranged medevac by EHS. Jerry Etzkorn and his son Jake attended to the hiker, providing first aid and assistance. They assessed a potential site for the helicopter, cleared the area and assisted the paramedics in carrying the hiker to the helicopter. They also came to the aid of a shipwrecked boater. The boater's 17' boat had come ashore in heavy surf not far from the station. The fellow was very lucky, having been pulled out of the surf by attentive hikers. Upon being notified of the situation, Gerry and Jake hiked down to Carmanah Creek, where they helped the boater recover some of his personal effects from along the tide line. They provided him with dry, warm clothing and brought him back to the station. They were able to get him in contact with his family, to let them know he was now okay and in good hands. The Etzkorns provided meals and shelter for two days, before a Coast Guard helicopter came to transport him out. Once again, the West Coast trail reverted to its original purpose as a life saving trail to Carmanah Point.

This story appeared in the September 1998 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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