On June 13th everything west of Hastings Mill burnt to the ground. The shoreline of West Vancouver was rapidly pre-empted. This pattern of settlement along the water was dictated by the early settlers dependency on the water and lack of access by land. A road survey crew ran a preliminary trail from Capilano to Eagle Harbour but this was quickly overgrown. Construction began on the first Capilano Dam.
The first land pre-emptors in West Vancouver were: J.P. Hughes “Navvy Jack” Thomas J.R. Chapman J. McCormack A.N.C. King P.A. Allen Stan James Murray Thain Peter Larson Ed Collett Nils Frolander Capt. Westerlunder A. Nelson Capt. Alcock Richard Gosse J.C. Wilson. Lack of access to land discouraged further pre-emption activity until 1891.