On Thanksgiving Oct 10, 2021, an operator of Land’escapes was on-site at Steenburg Lake, around East Bay Road, loudly and visibly signalling that they may be attempting to intimidate property owners and possible prepare their access to Steenburg Lake.
According to the map provided to the SLCA by B. Samann in Jun 2021, this is area owed by Land’escapes abutting Steenburg Lake.
On Oct 10, 2021, Land’escapes dispatched an operator to block trails and erect signage in the following area:
This resulted in a confrontation with SLCA members.
I was initially alerted about a problem when a brown out occurred at the far end of South Road. Another member also approached me about the power failure. This was concerning because it was Thanksgiving and a power outage would impact dinner plans.
I was advised the operator lost control of a tree after multiple attempts to drop it, resulting in it falling in across a powerline. Sparks were seen and a power surge was observed by neighbouring property owners. No damage to any electronic equipment was reported to me at that time.
Then, at 11:48am, I was contacted by a property owner of East Bay road, altering me that he had a video the SLCA should review. Our member explained this video was a 2nd encounter with this Land’escapes operator, after the operator had initially approach him and accused him of encroachment on Land’escapes land. The operator proceeded to survey the members property, and told him to leash his dog. Our member asked him to leave.
I visited the location and found a group (more than 5 families) of SLCA members gathered and visibly upset.
The following photographs were capture, which provide additional evidence of inexperienced and unprofessional work.
At 3:30pm, SLCA President and I discussed the incident with a plan for next steps.
The following day, it was reported that the operator returned to the scene in an attempt to clean up the unfinished work, but it remains unsafe as of Oct 12, 2021 at 12pm .
Individuals with additional first hand information about this incident can contact the Steenburg Lake Community Association via email to: LakeWatch@steenburglake.com