People living on North Whidbey worried a planned protest of Skagit County refineries this past weekend would include people dangling off the Deception Pass Bridge or blocking Highway 20.

Those fears didn’t materialize.

Approximately 150 climate change protestors blocked BNSF railway lines near Farm to Market Road for two days before authorities cleared the tracks and arrested 52 people for criminal trespassing early Sunday morning, said BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas.

“It could only last so long,” he said.

The railroad adjusted its schedules to stop trains through the area, Melonas said. He also said it wasn’t that big of a disruption because there is “flexibility” on this particular line. By Sunday night, the trains were running again, delivering various commodities including metals, fertilizer and animal feed.

“There were really minimal impacts from our perspective,” said Bronlea Mishler, Skagit County Communications Coordinator.

It’s hard to get an accurate headcount of those who participated but she estimated in the ballpark of 600 people participated in a march and dozens more were on kayaks in the bay.

Authorities were expecting more disruption and multiple agencies were out in force. Those agencies are still tallying the amount spent on overtime, she said.

Many of the activists stayed at Deception Pass State Park, reserving 150 sites and using the park for training, meetings and programs, said Jack Hartt, park manager.

“It was a busy, long day, but it was just another group staying at the park,” Hartt said.

The organization behind the protests, Pacific Northwest Break Free, estimated nearly 2,000 attended the march and nearly 1,000 listened to talks Saturday night, said spokeswoman Emily Johnston.

Johnston called the event “powerful.”

Break Free is a global network of activists. This protest was part of 12 days of world wide action against fossil fuels.

Activists attended nonviolent direct action training, “kayaktivism” training, art builds and other programs. The weekend also featured an Indigenous Day of Action that included a march and speakers, as well as a climate change conference held at the Anacortes Transit Shed.

“I know the combination of events was inspiring to people — many came up to me to say so,” she said.