As Weather Warms, Water Rescue Warnings On The Rise
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Spring means rising temperatures and frigid rivers, and now the California Highway Patrol is sending out a warning about the dangerous combination.
CHP Valley Air Operation helicopter pilots say they have already had a string of rescues this season including another one this weekend.
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The CHP posted a video to its Facebook page of a woman attempting a backflip down a waterfall. She landed on a boulder, breaking her leg.
"She was doing a backflip off of a rock and didn't see the boulder in the water," CHP Officer Jason Hertzell said.
The stunt sent CHP helicopter pilots to her rescue. The CHP also released an x-ray of the bad break to her leg.
"A he's going to have a long, lengthy recovery as a result of her injury," Hertzell said.
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A CHP helicopter crew also another River rescued another river recreationalist over the weekend. A woman slipping on a rock, submerged in the fast and frigid current of the Yuba River.
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Hertzell says springtime is the worst time for river rescues.
"Got a lot of snow runoff, really cold water, the current is a lot stronger than it appears," Hertzell said.
Along the American River at Foresthill, signs are posted warning people of drowning. One warning by a state parks supervisor urges people to stay out of the water completely during the spring.
Some listen.
"It looks really cold actually," Summer Stone said.
Some don't.
"Oh it's cold, but it's fresh," A.J. Parnell said. "It feels great."
The busy season for CHP river rescues.
"When we are there it's always a bad day for somebody," Hertzell said.
If you don't want a bad day in the river the CHP is warning don't be a daredevil.