All hands on deck to ensure safety with California North Coast fast river flows

Garrett Binder showed up for opening day of the rafting season relieved his companion was a black Labrador retriever, a breed long known to innately thrive in the water.

“It’s his first time, but he’s in the water a lot,” the Hopland man said of 2-year-old Benny, while on their way to the Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach to put in a raft with Russian River Adventures on April 22. It was Binder’s fifth time — but conditions were quite different from previous years.

Coming out of a record winter with water runoff that caused flooding over much of California, the Russian River, like many waterways in the state, was transformed into a fast and wide torrent — prompting concern from North Bay agencies tasked with river safety.

In April, the Russian River — a favorite floating go-to for the masses — ran at a rate of 1,800 cubic feet per second. To put the flow into perspective, imagine Golden State Warriors Point Guard Steph Curry passing 1,800 basketballs to a certain point all at once.

Granted, as time has passed, the river has since settled to flowing under 1,000 cubic feet per second, but it’s still as Binder’s father, Tim, of Forestville, summed up — “humbling.”

North Bay rescue crews acknowledge they may be facing more risk this year to visitors and locals enjoying the beloved summer activity.

“Absolutely, this is a concern. A lot of times people won’t wear their life vests. Not only are they dealing with more water now, but swifter moving water,” Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dept. Rob Dillion said. “And all that water is going to bring more people to the river.”

Dillion said the county has taken steps to increase rescue training. Out of its seven vessels, the county stations boats in Bodega Bay, Lake Sonoma and on the Petaluma River — but may trailer the watercraft most anywhere.

“The danger is the unknown. New debris is carried down river, so it’s not in the same places it was last year. A lot of things can happen,” he said.

Also, rocks may shift, new waterholes may emerge and branches on embankments can knock passengers out of the watercraft.

Greg Desmond, aquatics and recreation supervisor for Sonoma County Regional Parks, hopes the summer fails to deliver the one that prompted his agency to start a water safety patrol in 2013. In the prior year, five drownings were recorded within the boundaries of Windsor and Guerneville.

In the last six years, the Sonoma County Records Department reported only one year with no drownings — 2021. Most years show one or two, with 2020 seeing three. Desmond said that was due to the pandemic when fewer people were working and more were socially distancing outside. This year, one drowning death has already occurred.

Desmond has a team of roving lifeguards in the Russian River Water Safety Patrol. Within the program, the team set up racks of life vests that rafters and tubers can borrow on the honor system to float down the river. They’re staged at Del Rio, Steelhead, Riverfront, Mom’s Beach and Sunset parks.

“What we implemented was in response to drowning deaths,” he said. “Ninety percent of lifeguarding is prevention. We can’t be everywhere at once, but we can encourage people to be safe.”

All Desmond’s lifeguards are U.S. Lifesaving Association-certified, so they’re able to respond to whatever problems may arise in the water.

“It takes less than a foot of water for someone to drown,” he said.

Brett McTigue, battalion chief for Marin County Fire’s swift water rescue team, has issued a note of caution for river enthusiasts who may have become complacent about river flows after three years of drought conditions.

“We’re cautioning that people have a healthy respect for water,” he said. “But I think it’s definitely going to be a long season.”

The water hydrology has changed.

“Now, we’re in a high flow season, and we’ve had to relearn the rivers,” McTigue said, adding he discovered the eddies were “more challenging to grab” when he was out rafting in the West.

He also warned that rafters should be aware that their feet may become entangled in the brush that has drifted into the current and that it’s easy to panic under such circumstances.

To hone their skills, McTigue’s rescue crew responded to Tulare County for 16 days following a levee break that resulted in massive flooding.

And by all means, “heed warnings” the chief insisted, because “these are all preventable accidents.”

The majority of the Marin County Fire Swift Water Rescue crew’s calls come from Tomales Bay, which often acts like an ocean in terms of current. In 2017, the waterway shared 14 drowning deaths among those recorded on the Pacific Ocean coastal region of Marin County. One death was recorded there last year.

Travel warnings

The state issued its own warnings for those traveling elsewhere to have fun on raging rivers this summer.

“California has one of the largest snowpacks on record. As this snowpack melts in the coming months, the waterways will be especially cold, fast and running higher than normal,” California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said in a statement.

The state’s snowpack surpassed 200% of the average as of May 1.

The American River carries snowmelt runoff from the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range out of the Tahoe region to the Central Valley. Here, rafters wear helmets. The river that runs alongside U.S. Highway 50 causes police scanners to chime with rescue calls every summer weekend.

Nemeth’s agency joined Cal Fire and the state Department of Boating and Waterways in recommending tips for how to stay safe.

• Check the status of the park before leaving
• Know your GPS coordinates
• Alert someone where you are going and expected return time
• Avoid cold, fast-running water
• Never enter water in these conditions to rescue a victim; throw something that floats
• Never go in alone
• Use a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket
• Appoint a water watcher to supervise children near the water

Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, production, tech, energy, transportation, agriculture as well as banking and finance. She can be reached at 530-545-8662 or susan.wood@busjrnl.com