VIDEO/PHOTOS: Cannon Beach is one of the most popular destinations along the Oregon Coast. An estimated 750,000 visitors flock to the city each year. Since 1938, lifeguards have watched over the waters north and south of Haystack Rock, providing life-saving measures for anyone who has encountered trouble in the Pacific Ocean.
The current lifeguard tower near Haystack Rock needs replacement, and Cannon Beach Fire is asking for your help. The agency has created a GoFundMe to raise money to place two new lifeguard towers along the four miles of beach the agency covers.
โIn 1984, lifeguards built the tower that we currently have today, so it’s about 40 years old,โ said Jason Smith, Deputy Chief of Cannon Beach Fire. โItโs showing its years, weโve had to put quite a bit of money into it last year to try and get it through another season.โ The new towers would be placed in the busiest areas along the beach. โWeโll have a guard in each tower that will kind of be the deployment spot and that will help create a better patrol model and coverage model for the Cannon Beach lifeguards in the Cannon Beach area,โ Lt. Koa Lyu said.
โThe current tower is located at the base of Haystack Rock, and the purpose behind that was that is our highest threat potential area with the most amount of rip currents and the highest draw of beachgoers,โ said Smith. He adds that the new towers would be placed where the largest concentration of people is, Gower Beach Access and Tolovana Beach Access.
