Officials share water safety tips as Folsom Lake nears full capacity
FOLSOM – With the warm weather and the holiday weekend here, we're talking about water safety.
First, the crowds at Folsom Lake were a bit sparser than anticipated for the start of Memorial Day weekend.
The chilly weather was staving off the people for now. But as things start to warm up over the next few days and more people are enjoying the lake, it's important to remember the water is cold.
"Oh man, I think it's going to be busy. It's going to be crazy busy. It needs to warm up a touch but other than that it's go time," said boater Lenore Stutznegger.
As folks take advantage of our local lakes this Memorial Day weekend, officials are asking the public to keep an eye on the kids and always wear a life jacket.
"We do not pull bodies out of the water that have life jackets on," said Captain Justin Sylvia with Sacramento Fire.
The weather is warming up but the waters are still cold. It can be a shock to your body. Sacramento Fire said if someone is struggling in the water, do not go in to try and save them.
"Don't become a second victim by trying to go after them throw them a life jacket throw them some sort of rope or something they can grab on and you remain on the shoreline and not become that second victim," said Sylvia.
Another concern comes with how full Folsom Lake is. Its max capacity is 466 feet of water and right now it is sitting at about 462 feet.
"When the lake is high, there's a lot of rocks and trees adjacent to the water and people tend to want to put rope swings on those," said superintendent of Folsom Lake Mike Howard.
Folsom Lake had a fatality from a rope swing last year. The superintendent for the lake said rope swings are illegal and they will be handing out citations if they see anyone putting them up.
"We strongly discourage people to jump in the water, diving plunging off rocks, rope swings. Those are dangerous activities," said Howard.
"It's always important to watch for other boaters stay out of their wake and watch for glass," said Stutznegger.
Howard said that it's possible they'll have to start turning people away if things get too crowded. His recommendation is to get there early.
