On March 12, 2012 a windstorm came through the Comox Valley and hit hard on Macaulay Road. Several hydro power poles snapped on Macaulay Road around 6 kms in from Hamm Road leaving downed live hydro lines on the road. Residents were trapped either at home or trying to get home for more than a day and a half. Many residents were concerned and cited the lack of secondary access as a major problem.
The Comox Valley Emergency Program (CVEP) staff met with Comox Valley Regional District Staff, BC Hydro, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) Oyster River firefighters and the Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue to review what happened during the storm and road closure. The results of that meeting identified a coordinated plan for emergency services and a community meeting was held at the Oyster River Fire Hall to discuss emergency evacuation processes.
Mike Fournier (CVEP Program Coordinator, 2012) was quoted as “The biggest problem is one way in and one way out” and “To put people back in is not that big of an emergency, but to take people out during a forest fire, that would definitely be an emergency that would have to be quick”.
Since then, an emergency exit gate was constructed from Lory Road to Hamm Road but this serves “only some of the residents, not everyone at the end of Macaulay Road”.