Lifeguard shortage eases in Bellingham. Here’s when they start at Bloedel beach
A swimming area at Bloedel Donovan Park, once threatened by a lifeguard shortage, is scheduled to reopen after an increase in safety staff.
Park officials have announced an anticipated opening of Thursday, July 7, for the beach at Bloedel. Lifeguards will be staffed daily from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the beach and will continue until Aug. 28.
“I’m really happy that we have the guards on staff that are willing and able to do it. Because a lot of communities are not going to be able to have (swimming areas) this summer,” Nicole Oliver, director of Parks and Recreation, said in a telephone interview.
Twenty lifeguards needed to be hired for the beach to safely open. Officials believe they will have the full 20 guards on staff by the July 7 opening day.
“We’ve been training like crazy,” Lorie Jacobsen, aquatics manager for the city of Bellingham, said in a telephone interview.
Jacobsen said they’ve hired experienced lifeguards along with newcomers who have been recently certified.
“It’s been a hodgepodge actually of different people, interests and skill sets,” Oliver said.
Oliver said lifeguards with more experience will be guarding the beach at Boedel due to its additional “complexity” for guarding.
Newer guards will have the opportunity to move onto guarding the beach if they prefer, after gaining experience at the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center. The Aquatic Center will remain open under its posted hours.
The announcement comes after a nationwide shortage of lifeguards threatened local swimming areas.
A shortage of lifeguards was due to the “Great Resignation,” part of employer woes happening during the coronavirus pandemic, as reported by The Bellingham Herald.
City lifeguards earn an hourly wage of $15.47, with the opportunity to earn a $250 bonus if they work 60 hours a month.
Labor shortages for lifeguards have closed about a third of pools across the country, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
“I’m feeling like we’re a pretty lucky community,” Oliver said.
