Category Archives: Rafting

Bike Trail, Rafting, safety

Sacramento region braces for record-high heat

It’s not yet summer, but it’s not too early for extreme summer heat.

Record-high temperatures, peaking at 105 degrees, are expected to hit the Sacramento region today and Saturday.

At least until the Delta breeze kicks in Sunday across the Valley, when the thermometer may plunge below 90 degrees, health officials advise that this is not the time to sip alcoholic cocktails under the sun. That will only further dehydrate you amid the withering heat.

And state fire officials suggest that you not even think about barbecuing outdoors or mowing that dry grass in the Sierra foothills. They warn that two days of dry, scorching weather, followed by threats of lightning strikes Sunday, means elevated danger for wildfires.

“In this kind of weather, even a smoldering look can cause a fire,” said Janet Upton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

National Weather Service officials are predicting temperatures in Sacramento will hit 102 today – tying a record from 1883. The heat is expected to reach 105 on Saturday, burning past the high of 103 recorded in 1973.

Weather officials were originally predicting even hotter conditions before determining that a cooling breeze could slip in between competing high and low pressure systems. That would allow high temperatures to drop back down to a comparatively chilly 89 degrees Sunday.

Until then, “there is just going to be a lot of hot air coming in,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Drew Pearson. “It’s unusual to be this hot, this early.”

While the Sacramento region is certainly used to its summer swelters, Dr. Peter Hull, emergency medical director for the Sutter Roseville Medical Center, is putting out warnings early this year on coping with heat.

“Doing everything possible to avoid being out in the heat is the first priority,” said Hull. He added that “the young, the very old, the sick and the obese” should take particular care to drink plenty of fluids and stay in the air-conditioned indoors – whether it’s at home or in a chilled shopping mall or theater.

He warned of signs of heat exhaustion. It may start with cramping. In severe cases, vomiting, diarrhea or disorientation may mean someone needs medical attention and should call 911.

More at SacBee.com >>>

 

Bike Trail, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Sacramento highly rated for parks

According to the Trust for Public Land’s Parkscore index, Sacramento tied for third in a rating of the nation’s top park systems with Minneapolis taking top honors.

New York came in second and joining Sacramento in the number three spot is Boston and San Francisco.

Three factors comprise the ratings: park access, which measures the percentage of residents within a half-mile walk of a park; park size, which is based on the community’s median park size and percentage of total city area dedicated to parks; and a category that combines number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents and per capita park spending.

The report’s profile of cities mentions Land Park (most visited) and the American River Parkway (largest) in Sacramento.

Rafting, safety, Water

Sacramento officials launch push for more life jackets on the rivers

With the Saturday drowning of a 16-year-old on the Sacramento River and record heat in the forecast, city and county leaders are pushing for a wider distribution of life vests on Sacramento’s rivers.

Supervisor Phil Serna said he asked county staff and reached out to City Councilmen Steve Cohn and Steve Hansen – both with popular swimming spots in their districts – to “do what is necessary to have life jackets available to the public ASAP.”

Serna said he’s planning to have life vests distributed at Paradise Beach and Sand Cove Park near where the 16-year-old drowned along Garden Highway.

Witnesses said the boy, whose name has not been released, was swimming with a 13-year-old friend – both without life jackets – when he went under the water and never came back up.

It was unclear whether the life jacket distribution would apply to other beaches as well, Cohn said.

In an email to The Bee, Serna said there is some urgency to getting life jackets into the hands of recreational swimmers, with temperatures expected to top 100 degrees by the end of the week. The National Weather Service predicts a high of 109 degrees on Saturday.

More at ModBee.com >>>

 

 

Events, Rafting, safety, Water

Life jackets recommended for holiday fun in the water

Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the beginning of the summer recreation season, drawing boaters and swimmers to Sacramento region waterways.

With that in mind, public safety officials are urging people recreating in area rivers, lakes and streams to wear life jackets. Even though the river flow is low this year, they stress that strong currents exist below the surface and the water is cold.

The American River Parkway Foundation announced this week that is taking on the responsibility of purchasing and supplying life vests for Kids Don’t Float, a program that lends life vests to children during the summer months at seven access points along the American River.

The Kids Don’t Float program was initiated in 2003 by Sacramento County and its Emergency Medical Services Agency. Since then, the program has provided more than 2,000 new life vests annually to stock river access stations. Due to ongoing budget cuts, however, the county recently discontinued funding for the program, leading the American River Parkway Foundation to assume responsibility.

The foundation, a nonprofit agency, manages volunteer and donor programs to help preserve and maintain the 23-mile stretch of the parkway from the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

The life vest stations will be re-supplied and inspected twice a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day by the Drowning and Accident Rescue Team, and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. Life jacket stations include two sites at Discovery Park, Ancil Hoffman Park, Howe Avenue river access, Watt Avenue river access, River Bend Park and the Sunrise river access. Life jackets should be returned to the appropriate stations at the end of the day so other people can use them. Each station will offer ten to 15 life vests in various sizes.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fish, Rafting, safety, Wildlife

Last day to reserve campsite for weekend

This is Wednesday — and that means this is the last day to book a campsite reservation at a state park for a Friday arrival on Memorial Day Weekend.

A detailed recreation forecast for the upcoming weekend will appear in Thursday’s Chronicle and at sfchronicle.com.

The first campgrounds to sell out are coastal sites. The last to sell out are in the valleys, foothills and Redwood Empire.

As of Wednesday morning, these parks still had campsites available, from just one day to all three days for the upcoming weekend:

Greater Bay Area: Big Basin & Little Basin Redwoods, Brannan Island, China Camp, Henry Cowell, Mount Diablo, Portola Redwoods.

Coast: Salt Point, San Simeon.

Foothills & valleys: Clear Lake, Clear Lake cabins, Colusa-Sacramento River, Folsom Lake, Fremont Peak, Indian Grinding Rock, Lake Oroville, San Luis, Turlock Lake, Woodson Bridge.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Rafting, safety

Holiday weekend has a parkway booze ban

Sacramento County officials remind the public not to consume alcohol on the American River Parkway this Memorial Day weekend.

Alcohol consumption will be illegal on the parkway Saturday through Monday. County officials promise to enforce the ordinance that allows the county to temporarily ban alcohol consumption. Violators may be cited or arrested.

Open containers will not be allowed anywhere on the parkway between Watt and Hazel avenues.

More at SacBee.com >>>

 

Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

White-water season gets mixed reviews

With snowmelt trickling down the mountainsides, white-water enthusiasts are bubbling in anticipation of big rapids. But this year, with low snowfall, rivers without dam-controlled releases are in for a short season.

“A little bit lower water does not mean there’s not good rapids,” said Janeen Stewart, operator of Earthtrek Expeditions, a rafting company based in Lotus, Calif. “Actually, some of the rapids are better because there are drops.”

Rafting companies that run the American River, Truckee River and Carson River are kicking off the white-water season. Though the flows aren’t bursting, water management through the dams will prolong their seasons on some stretches through the summer.

“We do raft three rivers, the North Fork, the South Fork and the Middle Fork of the American River,” said Brynn Allen, a guide with Adventure Connection, based in Lotus, Calif. “The North Fork is the one of the three that does not have dam release. There’s not enough water in that river to be runnable right now.”

More at TahoeDailyTribune.com >>>

Rafting, safety, Video

Shallow Parts of American River Pose Unusual Safety Risk

While parts of the American River are shallow enough to scrape the bottom, others are safe enough to jump from nearby bridges even though it is illegal.

“You just have to swim to the bottom and if you can touch the bottom, you really do not want to jump there,” said Josh Harding, who swims in the river.

Over the weekend, one teen broke their leg from jumping in the river.

Rather than use a boat to rescue them, Metro Fire said the water was too shallow so they walked.

Now Metro Fire is cautioning others on safety, suggesting swimmers find a swimming hole or an area without fast-moving water that is also deep enough.

Normally, the Folsom Dam and Nimbus Dam release water at 4,000 cubic feet per second, but a drier than regular season has them releasing at 1,000 CFS.

More at Fox40.com >>>

Bike Trail, Rafting, Water, Wildlife

Public meeting May 23 on Watt Avenue levee repair

Plans by the U.S. Army Corps to repair the American River levee under Watt Avenue in Sacramento could result in lane closures, and the public is invited to a meeting on the project May 23.

The work at the north end of the Watt Avenue bridge is necessary to close a gap in the existing seepage cutoff wall inside the levee, on either side of the bridge. The Army Corps built more than 20 miles of seepage walls in American River levees between 2000 and 2002. But work was set aside for later where complicated encroachments existed, such as utilities, power lines or bridges.

Construction is expected to begin later this month and continue through November. Nighttime partial lane closures of Watt Avenue are expected in late July.

The American River Bike Trail and major thoroughfares will remain open during construction. But some trail access points near the bridge may be intermittently closed.

The meeting will be May 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Arden-Dimick Public Library, 891 Watt Avenue.

For more information, call (916) 557-5100 or email spk-pao@usace.army.mil.

From SacBee.com >>>