Image: L. Gomes / PML / Ross Aikenhead, 61, spends a lot of his time cleaning up Chilliwack Lake Road.

By Laurice Gomes

Chilliwack Lake Road

Local man undertakes cleanup at abandoned campsites along Chilliwack Lake Road

Jul 18, 2022 | 3:03 PM

CHILLIWACK — A concerned citizen is taking it on himself to clean up campsites along Chilliwack Lake Road.

Ross Aikenhead, 61, expressed his anger at the ongoing litter and neglect of the area, which he said has also become a hotspot for illegal activity.

“We’ve passed three camps just off the road that you probably can’t see because they are hidden,” he said.

Pointing down the road, Aikenhead said there was a fifth-wheel trailer that he went to clean up garbage around on Friday.

Image supplied by Ross Aikenhead / The abandoned campsite Aikenhead cleaned up Friday.

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“There’s a really large homeless camp behind that,” he said. Aikenhead alleges that he found stolen goods and evidence of drug use during the course of the cleanup.

He stressed that while he doesn’t have an issue with the homeless, what really bothers him is the crime and the mess left behind after people have jumped ship.

“Last December there was a homeless camp there,” he said. “It was just a guy and a woman there for about six months. They got flooded out, took what they wanted, and they just left.”

Aikenhead said over 3,600 kg of garbage was cleaned up from what the couple had left behind.

Patti MacAhonic, alternate director for the Fraser Valley Regional District, said this is a very complex issue with many layers to it.

“There are all sorts of things that could be problematic,” MacAhonic said, stating that this has been a long-term problem because there aren’t enough “boots on the ground.”

“There’s no effective way to police this,” MacAhonic said. “If you look at the United States, they have forest rangers, and the model works pretty well. We don’t have that.”

Aikenhead uses his time and resources to help clean up in any way he can, sometimes with assistance from other like-minded individuals.

“Be responsible people,” he said, shaking his head. “Sadly, what I’ve witnessed in the 60 years I’ve been here is that people used to help people, but the attitude has now gone to me, me, me.”