Lifeguards to protect Ke‘e Beach

Swimmers and snorkelers at one of Kauai’s most popular beaches will soon be better protected when they enter the azure waters on the North Shore.

More than $700,000 in state money will be spent this year to fund four water safety officers, a tower, truck, ATV, trailer, beach dolly, personnel gear and equipment for Ha‘ena State Park’s Ke‘e Beach.

The unguarded destination is home to an average of one drowning every other year, according to Monty Downs, M.D., an ocean safety advocate and Wilcox Memorial Hospital emergency room doctor.

Ke‘e Beach has been without water safety officers for at least the past several years, the Kaua‘i FIre Chief Robert Westerman said.

In the mid-1990s, Mayor Maryanne Kusaka put lifeguards there. But within a few months, the county Attorney’s Office cited liability concerns and they were removed, Downs said.

“It was the worst day in Kaua‘i’s water safety history,” he said.

Read more …

(Source: Nathan Eagle, Kauai Garden Island News)