Category Archives: Rafting

Mellow participants at alcohol-free ‘Raftopia’ event on American River

Hundreds gathered Saturday morning on the banks of the American River in Rancho Cordova for “Raftopia,” a nonpermitted event that prompted a one-day alcohol ban.

Sgt. A.J. Bennett, a Sacramento County Regional Parks ranger, said the Rancho Cordova Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, volunteer mounted officers and California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel assisted rangers Saturday to ensure participants had a safe day on the river.

“The water will wear a swimmer out in a hurry,” Bennett said.

Park ranger Greg Stelzner said the Saturday crowd was mellow.

“We have a good crowd. … A couple of church groups came through,” Stelzner said. Rafters were cooperative, either throwing beer away or taking it back to their parked vehicles.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Non-permitted ‘Raftopia’ prompts alcohol ban on American River

A alcohol restriction has been issued for the American River on Saturday from Hazel to Watt avenues in preparation for the non-permitted “Raftopia” event taking place that day.

Michael Doane, chief ranger for Sacramento County Regional Parks, said the main concern is public safety.

“(Raftopia) is formerly known as Rafting Gone Wild,” Doane said.

Six arrests were made at the July Rafting Gone Wild event, during which Sammy Diaz, the event organizer, escaped law enforcement officials by jumping off of a bridge and swimming away. Later that month, Diaz was arrested on two outstanding warrants: a misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing a peace officer and a misdemeanor charge of illegally jumping from a bridge at another unpermitted rafting event on the American River.

More at SacBee.com >>>

San Francisco Woman Drowns in Rafting Accident on American River

A San Francisco woman died Saturday during a rafting accident in the American River in unincorporated El Dorado County, sheriff’s officials said.

Around 4 p.m., sheriff’s deputies received a call reporting an accident on the South Fork of the American River near the community of Kyburz, sheriff’s officials said.

The caller said several people had been in inner tubes on the river. After going through a section of rapids, the group realized that one person was missing, according to sheriff’s officials.

Deputies, along with firefighters from Cal Fire and the El Dorado County Fire Protection District responded and immediately began searching for the victim.

About 45 minutes later, authorities located the female victim submerged in a section of heavy rapids. The victim was taken from the river and pronounced dead.

More at NBCBayArea.com >>>

Fire grows to 5,044 acres in El Dorado, Placer counties

The wildfire in El Dorado and Placer counties has now burned 5,044 acres and 20 percent contained, according to Cal Fire officials Sunday.

About 2,600 structures are threatened by the fire but none were reported damaged or destroyed by the fire so far, officials said.

Fire crews continue to monitor fire lines, hoping to slow down the so-called Trailhead Fire, especially near the Volcanoville area.

The containment lines held overnight in Placer County, where fire crews patrolling and monitoring fire lines, officials said. Residents in Todd Valley remain under voluntary evacuation.

Placer County mandatory evacuations have been downgraded to voluntary: Only residents with photo ID will be allowed beyond the staffed roadblocks. All homes east of Green Ridge Road to Oakwood Lane to Nugget Drive, Skyview Terrace Mobile Home Park, Oak Wood Court, Vinewood Court, Trail Head Court, Green Pine Court, Alton Trail Court, Gray Court, Tevis Court and White Tail Court and homes to the west of the above.

As for road closures in Placer County, Nugget Drive and Oakwood Lane are restricted to residents only, officials said.

The favorable temperatures overnight helped fire crews maintain containment lines on the El Dorado County side of the Trailhead Fire, Cal Fire said.

Crews have completed the line from west of Jakeys Hill, west to Buckeye Point and eventually to the American River, officials said. Several spot fires occurred Saturday night but firefighters were able to stop them and hold the fire at the river. Crews will continue to monitor Sunday.

In the Volcanoville area, fire crews are continuing to strengthen the fire lines west of the community in areas around Volcanoville, Kentucky Flat and Bottle Hill, officials said. There is still a mandatory evacuation order in effect for those areas.

The only campground directly affected by the fire is Dru Barner in the Georgetown Ranger District, which is within the fire closure area, Cal Fire said. No roads or campgrounds are closed in the Tahoe National Forest due to this fire.

Access to the middle fork of the American River from the Oxbow Reservoir put-in and Ruck-A-Chucky take-out is temporarily closed, officials said.

More at KCRA.com >>>

River access closed off due to Trailhead Fire

Access to the Middle Fork of the American River From Oxbow Reservoir put in to Ruck-A-Chucky take out was closed Friday to protect firefighter and public safety, due to the continued growth of the Trailhead Fire.

The fire near Foresthill, in Placer and El Dorado counties, was up to 2,151 acres with 12 percent containment being reported Friday.

As of 7 a.m. Friday, no structures had been damaged or destroyed; all evacuations were still in effect.

Nearly 2,000 firefighting personnel were battling the Trailhead Fire along the Middle Fork of the American River.

At 5:30 p.m., a spokesperson from CalFire said there had been a shift on the eastern side of the fire, with a run up Jakey’s Hill that was getting close to Volcanoville.

Several dozer lines had been constructed and it was hoped that early diurnal winds down the hillside would keep the fire from reaching the Volcanoville area.

Firefighters did use some firing on the southern side of the fire to try and burn out fuels, and have been holding the fire to the north at the Placer County Line.

Crews were able to complete and strengthen lines overnight to prevent fire spread up Peachstone Gulch, and contingency lines are in place to protect the community of Todd Valley.

More at TheUnion.com >>>

American River Parkway Alcohol Restriction For ‘Rafting Gone Wild’

For safety, the Regional Parks Director has issued an alcohol restriction on the American River from Hazel to Watt Avenues in preparation for a non-permitted event – Rafting Gone Wild – June 25, 2016.

In 2012, The Rafting Gone Wild event resulted in multiple arrests, destruction of public and private property, and presented a significant threat to the safety of the public and our community in large part due to the intoxication level of the participants.  The event being advertised for Saturday has a strong focus on alcohol consumption, which contributes greatly to public safety concerns.

As a result of the potential risks to the community including park visitors, rescue personnel and law enforcement, the Director of Regional Parks has issued an alcohol restriction for June 25, 2016.  Violations of the alcohol restriction will be strictly enforced.

Aerial spraying to control West Nile Virus scheduled

Aerial spraying to control mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus in the area of Arden Arcade and Carmichael scheduled on June 22nd and 23rd from approximately 8:00pm to midnight. Sign up for live updates by texting "sprayupdate" to 31996.
Aerial spraying to control mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus in the area of Arden Arcade and Carmichael scheduled on June 22nd and 23rd from approximately 8:00pm to midnight. Sign up for live updates by texting “sprayupdate” to 31996.

The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District announced today that aerial treatment for mosquitoes that carry the potentially fatal West Nile virus is scheduled for north of the American River (Arden-Arcade and Carmichael) on Wednesday, June 22, and Thursday, June 23, from approximately 8 pm to midnight. Vector Control reports the spraying is necessary to reduce the risk of human infection and protect public health.

West Nile Virus cases spike in Sacramento County

Sacramento County is reporting an abnormally early and strong start to West Nile Virus cases, with numbers that are second highest in the state.

According to the California Department of Public Health West Nile Virus website, Sacramento County has 47 cases in which the virus was found in dead birds and 16 cases where it was found in mosquito samples.

In comparison, at this time last year, there was one case, total.

“We have one of the largest surveillance programs in the state, so obviously the more mosquitos you trap, the more that you collect, the more you test, and the more activity you are going to find,” said Luz Maria Robles, with Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control. “We have about 23 species of mosquitos within our two counties, and out of 23 only two are capable of transmitting West Nile Virus.”

Robles said the increased rain, combined with heat, is the perfect breeding ground for the virus-carrying mosquitos.

“Heat accelerates a mosquito’s life cycle so that means they more quickly go from an egg to an adult mosquito,” Robles said. “So this year it’s like we got a little bit of a head start, or we started the season off with a bang, because we did have rain followed by that warm weather.”

The hardest hit areas of West Nile Virus are north of the American River from Arden-Arcade through Carmichael. Robles credits residents as being an important tool by reporting dead birds.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Swift water rescue teams saving lives

Summer is a fun season to hangout on the river with friends for a day of relaxation in the sun, but sometimes in fast moving waters, things can turn ugly fast.

“A call comes out, and we respond to Tiscornia Park with an elapse time of about 10 minutes, said Michael VanCamp, president of DART, the Drowning Accident Rescue Team. “We get on scene and our Swift Water Team enters the water and starts a hasty search in the area that bystanders said they ‘thought’ was the area.”

Concurrently, VanCamp finds the person that actually saw the missing person. This took him about two to three minutes to locate the witness. The elapsed time is now approximately 18-20 minutes, he said.

“I perform the ‘Show Me’ portion of the interview and learn the location that the Swift Water Team was searching was off by about 30 degrees, VanCamp said. “Once the Swift Water Team adjusts the search area, they found the man within moments.  The team brought him up and to the shore. Once at the shore Fire/AMR took him. They started CPR and transported him to the hospital.”

This is just one example of many heroic efforts DART performs when they get a call about a possible drowning.

DART is a non-profit, all volunteer organization whose mission is to save lives and recover property from various lakes and waterways. They respond to all water related issues within Sacramento County as well as all areas touching Sacramento County.

“We’ve responded as north as Clear Lake and south down past Stockton,” VanCamp said. “During the summer season, we have a large amount of calls to Tiscornia Park, by Discovery Park, and up the American River.”

More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>

California’s outdoor writers flock to Auburn, Placer County

They came. They saw. They were conquered – by Placer County’s outdoor attractions.

That was the consensus of local tourism industry spokespeople after 58 writers and photographers with the Outdoor Writers Association of California were treated to a variety of opportunities to explore and learn about Placer County’s outdoor amenities as part of the group’s conference Sunday and Monday in Auburn.

Bob Semerau, association president emeritus, had praise Tuesday for organizers and Auburn attractions.

“Experiencing the broad spectrum of outdoor adventure opportunities to be found in Placer County has given the membership a real appreciation for this lovely part of California,” Semerau said. “Fly fishing the middle fork of the American River with Grady Garlough of Rise Up River Trips highlighted the pristine and wild natural beauty to be found throughout the region. And the fishing was awesome.”

Mora Rowe, Placer County Visitors Bureau executive director, said Tuesday that many facets of the county’s outdoor tourism-based industry were presented to the organization in tours and recreational opportunities.

They included bass fishing on Folsom Lake, a tour of ancient geology and watersheds in the Foresthill area and target practice at the Auburn Trap Shooting Club. At the Auburn Quarry near Cool, experienced rock climbers were offered the opportunity to climb a cliff.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>