Birch Bay Waterslides in Blaine closes park for the season after a patron is severely injured
This story has been updated.
A person was severely injured Friday, Aug. 25, at Birch Bay Waterslides and the park has been closed for the rest of the season, the company said on Facebook.
The incident occurred on one of the main slides in the park, and required an immediate shutdown for the rest of the day, according to the company’s website.
An ambulance crew arrived at 1 p.m. and treated an adult male, transporting him to PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Hospital North, Whatcom Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Jason Van der Veen told The Bellingham Herald. He could not give information to the identity of the man or to the extent of his injuries.
People commenting on social media said the man’s injury was severe and there was a lot of blood.
“We watched it happen. My husband and daughter came off the same slide a few riders before him when they turned the same corner the man put his foot through the entire section of the slide shook quite a lot I even told them not to ride together again as they were going way too fast around that corner,” one person said on Facebook.
“We went and grabbed our towels and heard the bang and the poor man yelling. It would have been very traumatic for those directly involved.”
Another anonymous person posted on Reddit, “It appears as though a segment of the waterslide “Hairpin” broke off and injured the leg of one of the patrons.”
The Bellingham Herald reached out to Birch Bay Waterslides, which could not immediately be reached for comment.
On Facebook, the company said, “Yesterday, there was an unforeseen accident on one of our main slides. The injury was severe enough to require shutting down the attractions. Medical response was provided immediately while EMS was dispatched. After evaluating the situation, we decided the best course of action was to refund all of our guests in attendance and close down the park for the remainder of the day.”
The company offered to give refunds or transfer credits to season ticketholders and directed them to its website.
The park, located at 4874 Birch Bay Lynden Road, has at least half a dozen large slides. It was due to close for the season after Labor Day.
This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 11:29 AM.
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