Crawfish Lake Airport

The airport was closed due to economic reasons, specifically the cessation of the industrial operation it was built to serve. Airstrips like Crawfish Lake were typically constructed and maintained by logging or mining companies to support their remote camps. When the camp was shut down as resources were depleted or operations were consolidated, the supporting infrastructure, including the airstrip, was abandoned.

The airport is permanently closed and abandoned. Satellite imagery confirms that the former runway is heavily overgrown with shrubs and young trees, making it completely unusable for aircraft. The faint outline of the clearing is still visible from the air, but the site is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding temperate rainforest. There are no remaining buildings or infrastructure.

Crawfish Lake Airport (CA-0104) was a private, unregistered aerodrome located in a remote area of western Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Its primary significance was logistical. It served as a vital transportation link for a local logging camp, facilitating the movement of personnel, equipment, spare parts, and essential supplies. In an era before extensive road networks in the region, such airstrips were critical for connecting isolated communities and work sites to larger towns. Operations would have consisted of bush planes (such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver or DHC-3 Otter) and other STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft capable of using a short, likely unpaved, runway.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Crawfish Lake Airport. The economic driver for its existence (the associated logging camp) is gone. Given its remote location, the advanced state of decay, and the high cost of clearing and rebuilding the runway to modern standards, there is no practical or financial incentive for its reactivation.