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Warning signs and a gate are not enough. Unless the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets serious about keeping people off of Crescent City’s breakwater, more people will die on it.
On placid days, anyone might be tempted to venture out on the jetty that splits the sea and affords unparalleled views of Battery Point Lighthouse. And when waves are crashing, thrill-seekers have a hard time resisting the allure, like storm-chasers drawn into a tornado’s path.
Dr. Onik Arian apparently thought he had found some middle ground last Sunday — a break in the storm that would give him time to observe birds from the breakwater as part of an Audubon Society count. But a clearing of the clouds does not guarantee a calming of the sea. Tragedy struck, and we lost a solid citizen — an emergency room doctor in the business of saving lives.
It’s well past time for the Corps of Engineers to get into the same business and block access to the jetty.
There’s no way to keep the most determined people off the breakwater — they could always scramble up the rocks or scale a chain-link fence. But the vast majority of people are basically law-abiding. They just need a little clearer indication that they really aren’t supposed to walk out there. The existing warning signs are as likely to entice as to ward off — if you’re at a scenic high point, it’s just human nature to want to peer over the edge when there’s a sign reading, “Stay Away From the Cliff.”
Remember, too, that many of the people who approach the jetty have
never been there before. It’s not only scenic, it’s flat and paved — it
looks welcoming. Even during a storm, the portion near the entrance
stays relatively dry, luring people past the gate and then a little
farther, and a little farther still.
One could argue that people willing to take the chance should be free
to do so. But once those risk-takers are stranded out on the jetty or
washed off it, rescue workers have to risk their own lives. During
Sunday’s rescue effort, a wave pushed one of the swimmers to the sea
floor even though he was wearing a life jacket. The breakwater is the
scene of rescue operations once or twice a year. Dr. Arian is not the
first person to die there. Before a gate was installed, people could
drive onto the jetty — and vehicles have been washed off it.
The rescue worker who found himself walking on the bottom of the ocean
Sunday was calling for action Monday to keep people off the jetty. Del
Norte County Search and Rescue Coordinator Terry McNamara concurred,
but then he got wistful and acknowledged, “It’s just a beautiful view
out there.”
Precisely. And that’s why the Corps of Engineers would be negligent if
it doesn’t further restrict access to the jetty. As of now, it’s
presiding over a death trap.
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Opinion 
