Channel Islands National Park remains open, despite tragedy

CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK - As search and recovery operations are still underway, the Channel Islands National Park is still open for business.

Island Packers is taking tours to the islands as scheduled. An employee told one of our reporters she just came back from a trip on Conception.

Andrea Mills is an education coordinator at Island Packers. She said she was devastated and heartbroken by the deadly fire aboard the well-known diving boat off Santa Cruz Island.

“The boating community is a very tight-knit community and so a lost for anyone is a lost for all of us,” said Mills.

But for Mills, the devastation hits a little closer to home.

“I was actually just on the boat about five weeks ago,” said Mills. “I was with the group. I had worked with the captain and the crew, and I just can’t imagine what everyone went through. I am heart sick basically.”

Conception was owned and operated by Truth Aquatics based out of Santa Barbara. Mills says that company is one of the best.

“They are premier dive boats for the area,” said Mills. “In order to keep that reputation, they keep up their maintenance and their training.”    

Island Packers remains open, taking customers on whale watching trips, even as search and recovery efforts are taking place. A mile-long perimeter has been established around the incident allowing no boating traffic near the scene of the tragedy.

“The operations is not impacting travel to the National Park,” said Mills. “All ports of entry to Santa Cruz Island for the National park are still open.”

Even though the park remains open, the 39 people aboard Conception remain top of mind.

“Something like this is just beyond imaginable,” said Mills. “There is just no scenario that you can run through your mind that this would be what the outcome was.”