LUMMI NATION, Wash. — Low tide brings high anxiety for Chief Jim Petrie at Whatcom County's Sandy Point Marina. That's where Fire District 17's fire boat is docked almost all the time.
When asked recently if he could take the boat to an emergency call at that moment he flatly replied, "No, sir. Ninety percent of the time we can't take it out."
That's because over the years so much sand and gravel have accumulated at the marina southwest of Ferndale that it's sometimes impossible for boats to leave the docks. One of those boats belongs to District 17.
So far this year there have been five distress calls for water rescues which Petrie's crews have not been able to respond to. He ends up diverting those calls to the Coast Guard or Bellingham Fire Department.
"That all takes precious time," Petrie said. "We're in the business of saving lives. It's frustrating when we do get dispatched to those types of calls and there's nothing we can do."
Folks living around the marina said it needs to be dredged.
"It gets shallow enough in parts that you can walk across and not get your knees wet," said Steve Stedman, vice president of the Sandy Point Improvement Company.
At low tide, water sometimes runs just a few feet deep, and a narrow passage exposes jagged rocks.
Boaters said they can only navigate in and out of the marina 30% of the time.
But the tidelands in question are owned by the Lummi Indian Tribe - which opposes dredging for environmental reasons saying it "removes essential habitat ... that the Lummi Nation's shellfish beds and fish habitat rely on."
The Tribe's chairman told KING 5 dredging is a "violation of our treaty-protected rights to harvest fish and shellfish," adding, "the marina development should never had happened in the first place. The tidelands at this location have been held in trust by the United States for Lummi.
If the channel had been properly reviewed in the 1950s, in compliance with the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, it never would have been authorized. "
"We're not out there to challenge them," Stedman said. "We want to work together for a solution that will work with them and work for us. Right now we're at an impasse."
Petrie agreed but said the boat may be taken out of service all together for financial reasons unless a solution comes soon.
He hopes the tide turns before someone is hurt or killed.