Heavy rains strand visitors at Albion Falls

A lot of people were hiking in the area of Albion Falls on Monday, but as heavy rain poured down around 1:00 p.m., many of those people were left stranded at the base of the falls due to the downfall.

In total, Hamilton firefighters were forced to rescue ten people and three dogs from the bottom of the falls.

“They tied ropes to trees and they were bringing us one by one with a harness. It was really difficult coming up because it was really muddy and I kept sliding but the firefighter was with me at all times making sure I didn’t fall.”

They were stuck at the base for more than an hour and one person ended up in the water. They were muddy and shaken, but luckily no one was hurt.

Earlier that day it was sunny at the falls, but once the rain hit “out of nowhere we heard a crash and water coming down two seconds out of nowhere.”

“At first we saw all the water coming down then it clicked that this place is going to flood and that’s when everyone made the mad dash to safety.”

“We all ran to high grounds and the water level started rising really quickly and then it started raining even harder.”

Once everyone was pulled to safety, city bylaw officers talked to them and gave them a warning. Even though they walked in along a marked path, they were in an area they shouldn’t have been.

“There was no hazard sign like stay away from the base of the falls.”

But in fact, there are several signs warning people not to go into Albion Falls’ gorge and fences that were put up last month after someone died.

Bylaw officers were out today and over the weekend, warning and ticketing hikers.

They’ve put up fences and have piled up brush and branches to try to stop people from going over. If you’re caught on one of the unmarked trails, it is considered trespassing and it’s a $135 ticket.

There have been several rescue calls so far this year.