After rescue, Ripon Fire sees need to warn, ‘Rivers do not flow in a circle’
At the beginning of the week, the Ripon Consolidated Fire District rescued a large group from the Stanislaus River at Caswell Memorial State Park.
The group entered the river on rafts “believing the river would loop back around and allow them to exit where they started,” Ripon Fire said in a Facebook post.
“Unfortunately, this is a misconception we encounter far too often,” the district wrote. “Rivers do not flow in a circle.”
To make the message even clearer, a graphic with the post added: “The river is always moving. What goes downstream, stays downstream.”
The fire district gave these tips for utilizing the river safely:
- Know your entry and exit locations
- Have transportation waiting at your take-out point.
- Wear a properly fitted life jacket
- Never assume you’ll be able to get out where you started
“We’re sharing incidents like this to help prevent the next emergency,” the district wrote. “A little planning before you launch can make all the difference and help keep our firefighters focused on true emergencies.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 1:38 PM.
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