‘You cringe when a fire truck goes by’: Rope rescues spike at Hamilton waterfalls during pandemic

A pandemic surge of interest in Hamilton waterfalls is spurring more fall injuries and rescues in a city battling millions of dollars in related lawsuits.

Firefighters rappelled down ropes for 16 rescue calls last year, many of them at or near popular waterfall areas like Spencer Gorge in Dundas and the Devil's Punchbowl in Stoney Creek.

Another seven people have been rescued this year - including a man who broke his arm and leg after plummeting into Albion Falls gorge last weekend and a teenager who was briefly hospitalized after tumbling 12 metres into Webster's Falls gorge earlier in April.

It's gotten to the point where you cringe when a fire truck goes by," said Dundas Coun. Arlene VanderBeek, a member of the city waterfall working group trying to tackle the latest surge in incidents. Every time, you can't help but wonder: has someone met their demise? Is someone lying at the bottom of the gorge in complete agony? It's so distressing."

Last year's total is the highest since rescue calls spiked alarmingly in 2016 and 2017, a trend that spurred the city to fence off the top of popular but accident-prone Albion Falls. (The annual record is 23 rope rescues in 2016.)

The number of annual rope rescue calls dropped dramatically after the fence was added, said Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe. But they jumped again last June as lockdown-weary residents really started to get outdoors."

Meanwhile, the city is still paying to fight three legal battles linked to incidents at Albion Falls before it was fenced off:

• A $20-million lawsuit launched by the family and guardians of Imran Khan, who was 10 years old when he fell from a height at Albion Falls and suffered what his claim describes as catastrophic" brain injuries in 2013;

• A $390,000 lawsuit from Mississauga actor Corey Dixon, who slipped on the ice and slid into the gorge in the winter of 2016;

• A $650,000 lawsuit filed by the estate and family of Toronto photographer Michael Lane, who died after losing his footing and tumbling into the gorge in 2017.

The city is defending all three claims, said spokesperson Matthew Grant, but can't comment further on continuing legal disputes. In general, the city has argued in statements of defence that visitors were responsible for the risks of walking on unsanctioned pathways or unmaintained wilderness area" in the steep gorge.

There has not been a new lawsuit launched over an Albion Falls injury since barriers went up around the top of the gorge. So is the solution to fence off public access to more waterfalls?

That sort of plan is not popular - nor is it always possible, say city and Hamilton Conservation Authority officials.

VanderBeek said additional fencing has come up for debate - but it's not a practical solution around the sprawling 144-acre Spencer Gorge. Do you fence off the entire Niagara Escarpment? Nobody wants that."

There is already targeted" fencing used to discourage hikers from scrambling down the slope near both Webster's and Tew's falls, said Gord Costie, director of conservation areas for the HCA, which manages Spencer Gorge.

And last year, a railing was added at a lookout atop nearby Dundas Peak - the cliff edge selfie-seekers like to dangle their feet over.

Even those additions detract from the natural beauty responsible" visitors want when they travel to the City of Waterfalls, argued Stephanie Amaral, a blogging photographer and explorer who has lamented online the gradual fencing off of Hamilton cataracts.

Obviously they are just trying to protect people, but I wish they would focus on educating instead of closing things off," she said.

Costie said no new fencing is planned this year around authority-owned falls. Instead, the HCA is hoping a new reservation system for Spencer Gorge waterfall visits, which starts up this weekend, will help control visitor numbers - and accidents.

The city has also added new bylaw officers this year and even given them authority to hand out trespassing tickets on conservation authority property, said VanderBeek.

The proactive bylaw experiment has already nabbed close to 200 would-be trespassers at Albion Falls, where disgruntled hikers still routinely cut holes in the unpopular fence wrapped around the gorge.

I hope that's enough," said VanderBeek. It really does seem like we're seeing more people trying to break free of that pandemic confinement and visit our natural spaces, which is great. But some of them are taking terrible chances and it is a huge safety concern for us."

Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com