Visitors urged to keep clear of swollen Kern River on Fourth of July weekend
The weather promises to be sunny and hot, and a fireworks show is scheduled to light up Lake Isabella on Saturday night, setting up a perfect Fourth of July weekend for thousands of visitors expected to flock to the banks of the Kern River over the holiday.
But after a spate of drownings this month on the powerful 165-mile-long Kern, officials have a message for visitors: Stay out of the water.
This year’s melting Sierra Nevada snowpack, after one of the wettest winters on record, has swollen central California rivers with cold, fast-moving water.
Casualties on the Kern, about three hours north of Los Angeles, have been mounting and include five drownings, two people missing and thought to have drowned, and a heart attack death, according to Sgt. Zachary Bittle, who coordinates search and rescue operations in Kern County.
With an expected holiday crush headed to one of the state’s most popular white-water rafting destinations, swift water rescue teams in Tulare and Kern counties are gearing up for the busy weekend by adding extra patrols at dangerous spots on the river. They’re also urging visitors to stay away from the river’s edge and to avoid using store-bought flotation devices — if they enter the water at all.
“Michael Phelps himself couldn’t overcome the current of the Kern River,” Bittle said.
The Tulare County Sheriff’s department plans to station 15 to 22 rescuers on the river this weekend, according to Sheriff Mike Boudreaux. His team rescued three people from the waters Wednesday night, bringing the tally of river rescues in the county to more than 25 since April.
Officials fear that after five years of drought and relatively tame currents, people may be unused to this season’s high, fast-flowing water.
“My concern is people are not taking the warnings seriously,” Boudreaux said. “There is nothing to joke about with this water.”
Kern County’s swift water rescue team will meet with members of the county’s fire department in Kernville on Saturday morning to strategize for the weekend, Bittle said. His team, composed primarily of volunteers, will also station additional people on the river to respond quickly to incidents.
Three people died on the Kern on the Fourth of July in 2011, the last big water year in California.
Other rivers across the region will remain closed for the holiday, including the Kings River and the Tule River, both in Tulare County. Visitors to those rivers could be fined, Boudreaux said.
For rescuers and other first responders, planning and training for the Fourth of July weekend has been in the works for months, since the large snow melt was forecast.
“We are trying to make sure we are in a place we can respond quickly so we can rescue people before they become a statistic,” Bittle said.
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