Metro Fire rescues 6 people from American River in Carmichael
CARMICHAEL — Crews on Sunday rescued several people from the American River in Carmichael.
Metro Fire of Sacramento said rescue efforts began shortly after 2:30 p.m. along the American River Parkway.
Six people were paddleboarding when they fell into the water. A chopper located the victims and saw three people who made it to shore and three others who were still in the water. A rescue boat arrived and was able to pull the three from the water and take all six victims to the Harrington Access point.
No one was injured.
Units responded to the area downstream of River Bend Park on the American River for a report of 6 people that fell from their paddle boards. Copter 1 was first to locate the victims and quickly determined that 3 were on shore and 3 were still in the water, thankfully all were… pic.twitter.com/rOXpYfCkUD
— Metro Fire of Sacramento (@metrofirepio) May 28, 2023
The rescue comes as officials have issued several warnings to civilians to stay out of local waterways Memorial Day Weekend. A near-historic Sierra snowpack has led to river levels that are higher and flows that are significantly faster than usual this time of year.
Over on the Sacramento River near Miller Park, crews were able to pull multiple people to safety after the boat they were on was taking on water.
Just on Saturday, another water rescue was performed on the American River near the same area as Sunday afternoon. That one saw crews pull one adult and one child to safety Saturday night.
Metro Fire said those two were among a family who were also paddleboarding on the swift-moving river. They fell in but were wearing life jackets. No one was hurt in that incident either.