Crews prepping Vancouver seawall for expected king tide, park board says

An aerial view of storm damage to Vancouver's seawall is seen in an image provided by the city.

The Vancouver Park Board says it's working to mitigate the potential for further damage to Stanley Park's iconic seawall with another king tide forecast for Monday.

In a video update posted on social media, the park board said crews have been "removing as much debris as possible" from the shoreline and from the water, as well as temporarily reinforcing "key sections" of the seawall.

The seawall has been closed between Third Beach and the Lions Gate Bridge since Jan. 7, when a combination of high tides and strong winds caused significant damage to that stretch of the wall, as well as West Vancouver's Centennial Seawalk. 

The park board said its principal concern is not the high tide itself, but the possibility of high winds pushing debris such as logs against the seawall.

According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Monday's high tide is forecast to reach 4.8 metres shortly before 6:10 a.m. Tides of 4.9 metres are forecast for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

The park board's update did not provide any information about the removal of the barge that has been stranded at Sunset Beach since severe storms struck the province in mid-November.

Earlier this month, both the City of Vancouver and Transport Canada described the situation as "complex" and did not provide a timetable for its removal. 

At that time, the city said it is tracking all costs related to the barge, and plans to bill the owner, Sentry Marine, for them. Transport Canada said removing the vessel is the owner's responsibility.