Busy weekend on the water: Modesto water rescue crews help 17 people on Stanislaus River
Hundreds of people took to the water over the weekend when Stanislaus River Parks reopened, but some came ill equipped for the high, swift and cold water conditions.
The Modesto Fire Department rescued 17 people who were trying to float down the river in rubber rafts and inner tubes.
“Every trail head, every access point, every parking lot was very busy with activity,” said Darin Jesberg, a battalion chief with the Modesto Fire Department.
He said the water temperature was in the mid-50s and flowing at 1,500 cubic feet per second over the weekend.
On Saturday, firefighters were dispatched to rescue six adults who called 911 after they overturned in or near the Russian Rapids just west of Knights Ferry, Jesberg said.
As they were searching for the group they came across four different people who also had fallen out of boats or inner tubes and were stranded on the side of the river.
Jesberg said the original group was located not far downstream, all standing on a sandbar in the middle of the river.
On Sunday, firefighters were dispatched to a report of several adults and a minor stranded downstream of Goodwin Dam near Lake Tulloch where there are Class IV and V rapids rated for only expert boaters.
Hikers saw the group on the north side of the river, where there is no access point, calling for help, Jesberg said.
Firefighters located part of the group near the dam, including a minor between 10 and 12 years old, but they said two others had gone downstream in an effort to walk to Knights Ferry.
“They wouldn’t have been able to make it because it wasn’t passable,” Jesberg said.
He said he and a Tuolumne County Sheriff’s sergeant hiked two miles downstream before before turning back and calling in help from Cal Fire, which sent a helicopter.
The helicopter crew located the two people not far from where Jesberg and the sergeant turned around.
A rescuer was lowered down to them from the helicopter to tell them to hike back upstream, where they were met by the other rescuers.
Monday was much quieter. The only distress call was made by a property owner who saw people in trouble on the river west of Oakdale, MFD Battalion Chief Ryan Winton said Tuesday morning. The resident called 911, but another group came to the aid of those in trouble and got them ashore safely.
The Modesto Fire Department wants to remind people there are several fire stations in the area that participate in loaning life jackets:
- Modesto Fire Station 1, 610 11th St., Modesto, 209-572-9657
- Modesto Fire Station 27, 450 S. Willowood Drive, Oakdale, 209-572-6260
- Modesto Fire Station 28, 325 E. G St., Oakdale, 209-577-6263
- Modesto Fire Station 29, 17700 Main St., Knights Ferry, 209-577-6266
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 7:21 AM.
