Firefighters rescue woman from Tuolumne River. Her foot was trapped in submerged roots
Modesto firefighters rescued a woman from the Tuolumne River on Wednesday after her foot became trapped under a tree root while she was trying to dislodge her raft from the tree’s branches.
The person she was with “was holding her head out of water” as firefighters worked to free the woman, according to the department.
The woman and her companion were on the river in what the incident report called “a store-bought raft.” It became stuck in the branches near La Grange Road, said Deputy Fire Chief Darin Jesberg, and they got out of the raft to try to dislodge it.
Jesberg said he didn’t know how long the woman was in the river or how high the water was but said it is running cold and fast right now. The woman was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons, Jesberg said.
She fortunately was wearing a life jacket during the incident but authorities recommend also using rafts rated for river use.
