The hot weather will make many flock to the beaches of Manitoba this weekend, but on West Hawk Lake, no one will visit Crescent Beach. The province fenced off the beach on Tuesday after floods caused damage to the adjacent sea wall. The closed beach was visited on Saturday by Amy Syrota who has a seasonal spot a few minutes away. “I’ve been coming here for years. My whole life, in fact, from a young age. So seeing that is really catastrophic and it sucks,” he said. Businesses along Crescent Beach say the county did not consult them before closing the area. “I spoke to five of the six businesses in the harbor front, including the marina, and no one was informed of the beach closing,” said Shaun Harbottle, owner of Crescent Beach Cottages. “Made for a tough weekend, as we all placed our order while waiting for a 36 degree weekend, you will be busy.” Harbotle said he met with provincial officials a few days before the fence was lifted and was not informed that the entire beach was closed. “There was no talk of closing the whole beach. There was talk of closing half the beach and some parking lot where the beach wall is damaged,” he said. In a statement to CTV News on Thursday, the province said it was working to fix the sea wall. “The province hired an engineer to assess the damage to the sea wall and required repairs to make it safe and allow public access to the beach again – this assessment and report on the required repairs and management is ongoing.” referred to in part of the statement. The county said it would inform the Whiteshell Cottagers’ Association, residents, businesses and the South Whiteshell Chamber of Commerce as more information became available. As for the businesses and residents of the area, they say they have not seen any information or progress. “The beach is vital,” Harbotle said. “You have two months of good weather in Manitoba, right? I do not think anyone wants to come in December and sit on the beach.” Harbotle noted that Father’s Day and Canada Day are significant profits for businesses in the area, something that could have prevented the beach from closing. “I always come to this beach and bring my friends and family here. It probably won’t happen this year,” said Syrota. CTV News has contacted the province and the Whiteshell Cottagers’ Association.
