When Sacramento county officials decided to ban alcohol on the American River during some holidays, they said it was because drunk revelers were causing problems and creating a dangerous environment. Do you think the ruling was the right thing to do?
Titus Cannon did a quick inventory before he hit the American River on Wednesday to join thousands of others for a July Fourth rafting trip.
Red Bull? Check.
Water? Check.
Chips? Check.
Booze? Not a drop.
Cannon, a 21-year-old Sacramento State recreation major, was joining friends Ryan Smith and Hannah Robinson for a downstream trek from the Sunrise access point to William Pond Park, and none seemed to mind the alcohol ban in place now during the summer holidays.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Smith, a 21-year-old criminology major at CSU Sacramento. “Usually, you wouldn’t catch me on the water on a holiday anyways. It’s smart.”
Authorities banned drinking on the river during summer holidays five years ago between Hazel and Watt avenues, and the message appears to be getting across.
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A man drowned while attempting to swim across the American River Tuesday afternoon.
Sacramento City Fire crews, DART and Yolo County Marine Patrols searched off of 1800 Northgate Boulevard at Highway 160, just north of downtown Sacramento, Sacramento City Fire Union spokesperson Tod Filbrun said.
The 53-year-old Sacramento resident attempted to swim across the river, but then had trouble.
“There was actually a floatie out there. It floated down the river from wherever it came from. He swam out to get it. And as he swam out to get it, he got really tired. By the time he got to it, he went under and started calling for help,” witness John Tompson said.
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Sacramento County officials are reminding people that fees will go up for the July 4 holiday, and so will enforcement – as no drinking will be allowed on the American River Parkway between Watt and Hazel avenues.
Entrance fees will go from $5 to $8 for vehicles for the holiday. Vehicles with trailers or other oversize vehicles will be charged $13 instead of $10.
The county justifies the higher fees because of increased work on the holiday.
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A man who died after getting tangled amid submerged trees in the American River at River Bend Park was identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office on Sunday as Josh Ray Rasmussen, 32, of Fair Oaks.
At 4:41 p.m. Saturday, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District received a report that a man had jumped from a raft into the river and had not surfaced.
A fire boat crew found the man, who had been been tangled in the trees, officials reported.
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A man, rafting on the American River, jumps into the swift current to cool off and never re-surfaces.
Placer, Yuba and Nevada county residents should not worry if they see raging orange flames and plumes of smoke today as a prescribed burn that started at 10 a.m. continues through the evening.
The burn is occurring underneath the Middle Fork American River Canyon bridge, about a mile northeast of Auburn. The Lake Clementine Trail is also closed as part of the burn.
Smoke will be visible from Interstate 80, Highway 49, Auburn, Foresthill and the surrounding areas, according to Cal Fire.
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If you see smoke billowing up by the Foresthill Bridge Thursday, don’t be alarmed, it’s a prescribed burn.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, California State Parks, Placer County, and the Cal Fire Vegetation Management Program, will conduct a 55-acre prescribed burn under the Foresthill Bridge.
Operations will start at 10a.m. and continue into the evening hours. It will consist of two burn units, one on the east side of the river and one on the west side. Smoke will be visible from Interstate 80, Highway 49, Auburn, Foresthill and the surrounding communities.
The prescribed burn will occur directly under the bridge in the middle fork of the American River canyon, approximately one mile northeast of Auburn.
Lake Clementine Trail will be closed to the public on Thursday and Friday (June 28-29) as part of the prescribed burn operation.
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The body of a man possibly suspected of a homicide in Mariposa County was found Sunday just after noon along a trail near Lake Natoma following a three-hour manhunt.
The man’s cause of death and identity were not immediately released.
Sgt. Jason Browning, of the Folsom Police Department, said State Park rangers were notified by employees of Sudwerk Riverside Restaurant around 9 a.m. of an unattended white Ford Ranger in the parking lot.
A license plate check revealed that the truck was a suspect vehicle in a Mariposa County homicide.
“Suspecting that the driver of the truck could be armed, the recreation area (Negro Bar) was cleared,” Browning said.
California State Parks rangers, Folsom Police officers and deputies from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department began a full-scale search for the suspect, a white male approximately 21 years old.
SWAT and canine officers were called in to assist with the search.
Just after noon, the man was found in an “off trail wild land area.” He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The command center, set up in the Sudwerk’s parking lot, got the attention of several passersby in the area.
Lisa Thompson, of Folsom, was on her way to the grocery store when she stopped to see what the commotion was all about.
“It’s not every day you see SWAT and all the media out here,” she said. “ I thought it was a drowning. To hear it was a murder suspect is concerning.”
She said she was relieved to hear the suspect was no longer on the run.
Scott Pill, of Fair Oaks was riding his bike along the Negro Bar trails when he and other bicyclists were stopped by officials.
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Parking and boating fees at Folsom Lake and Auburn state recreation areas are increasing.
The fee bumps, which start July 1, are to help maintain the heavily used recreation areas at a time of dire budget reductions and park closures. Changes include a $2 increase to launch power boats.
Among the increases at Folsom:
• Folsom Lake or Lake Natoma power boat launch fee: Current fee $8. New fee, $10.
• Willow Creek day use parking: Current fee, $5. New fee, $10.
• Rattlesnake Bar, Granite Bay, Beals Point, Folsom Point, Brown’s Ravine, Peninsula day use parking: Current fee $10. New fee, $12.
• Beals Point developed campground peak days: Current fee, $30 a night. New fee, $33 a night.
Among the increases at Auburn:
• Lower Lake Clementine power boat launch fee: Current fee, $8. New fee, $10.
• Yankee Jims, Grizzly Bear, Confluence, Long Point Trail parking areas: Current fee: nothing. New fee: $10.