Now that homeless camps are permitted in the area of the American River, some say the problem is growing, but it’s actually the homeless community working to clean it up.

“I believe that the Lord got me doing this out here. I think I’m in the right place at the right time,” Dell Shook said.

He has been homeless since an eviction a few years ago. Now he is working to help clean up the area he’s living in.

Dan Aderholt formed American River Homeless Crews four years ago. It started with six homeless people, but now it’s spread to over 1,000. Every day they meet, spending hours cleaning up the river not just for themselves, but for the whole community.

“We got children that come out and go fishing and stuff like that, so I think people would like to see a nice clean area when they come out,” Shook said.

Now the crews are expanding to beyond the homeless community. The word is spreading on social media, and people are volunteering to help any way they can.

“I’ve never seen that before where community members come down and take the day off to come down and help us clean and bring my crew members subway pizza you name it they do it,” Aderholt said.

Many never expected to be in a situation like this, but still trying to make the best out of it.

More at CBSLocal.com >>>

Crews rescued a 12-year-old who fell into the South Fork American River on Friday, the El Dorado Fire Protection District said.

They responded to the call at around 11:30 a.m. and found that the 12-year-old was holding onto shrubbery in the Coloma State Park area. A CHP air operations unit was monitoring the child in case they lost grip of the shrubbery, officials said.

It is unknown why the child fell into the river, officials said.

More at KCRA.com >>>

For those who plan to head to the waterways this Father’s Day weekend, continued snow melt from what’s left of the Sierra snow pack is making its way to the valley and river temperatures are running cold.

This heat is bringing more people to the water, and on Thursday, there was another river rescue along the American River. A fisherman is now hospitalized after being swept into deep water. It is believed he had a medical emergency. Now, now fire crews are investigating whether the cold water is to blame.

More at CBSLocal.com >>>

Crowds will be returning to Tiscornia Beach at Discovery Park this Memorial Day weekend.

And even with the cooler-than-normal temperatures this month, the Sacramento Fire Department’s water rescue team is sending out an early warning about a hidden danger at the popular cool-down spot.

“This is where drownings occur. People don’t realize it when they wade out how suddenly their footing drops off,” Sacramento Fire Captain Adam Watt said.

As the level of the American River drops throughout the summer, it’s possible for people and children to wade out to the middle of the river in knee-deep water.

“However, while you may be standing on almost flat surface, one step and you drop off into a super steep decline and it catches people unaware. And people who can’t swim or aren’t ready can go under and be swept into the fast-moving current,” Watt said.

Emergency officials stress the importance of wearing a life jacket to give water rescuers enough time to save potential drowning victims.

More at KCRA.com >>>

A 56-year-old Sacramento man died while rafting on the American River 50 miles north of Sacramento Saturday.

David Wayne Johnson was rafting with two others when the vessel flipped over, according to Cal Fire. All three rafters were not wearing life jackets and were washed down the river below the Iowa Hill Bridge. One victim swam to shore and a woman was rescued shortly after the incident.

A dive team located and rescued the woman, and was forced to suspend the search for Johnson due to “dangerous water levels including class 4 rapids in this section of the river and pitch black light conditions,” Cal Fire reported.

The California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit, California State Parks, the Placer County Sheriff and the Colfax Fire Department responded to the incident at the Mineral Bar Campground.

On Sunday, state parks officials found Johnson deceased around upper Lake Clementine, the Placer County Sheriff Department said in a statement.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Folsom’s iconic Rainbow Bridge turns 100 years old on Sunday, Feb. 10, and the City of Folsom is inviting everyone to join in the 100-day centennial celebration.

Construction began on the Rainbow Bridge in 1917, and in 1918, when the bridge was going up, the Telegraph described the structure as rising apparently out of solid rocks. In 1919, the bridge opened to motorists to cross the American River. Standing strong 100 years later, this Folsom landmark has served as a symbol of strength for the City of Folsom.

Sacramento County had big plans for Rainbow Bridge when it opened. The graceful structure with its distinctive concrete arch was to be the final link in a ’40-mile loop through some of the richest agricultural lands in the state.’ County officials predicated the pastoral drive between Sacramento and Folsom was destined to become famous as a tourist attraction. Rainbow Bridge is still one of the most photographed posts on the American River.

When the bridge was built, the concrete arch was the fourth largest concrete arch span in the world. The open-spandrel arch, with cutouts between the arch and roadway, was a popular design in the early 1900s.

More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>

A new Sacramento County program will pay homeless people to clean up where fellow unsheltered people camp in tents along the American River Parkway.

Supervisors approved a partnership on Tuesday that would allocate $387,200 to PRIDE Industries, a Roseville-based nonprofit that specializes in job training, to help oversee the one-year program.

“They’ll be basically doing jobs, cleaning up the homeless camps and other areas in the parkway and the county, and while they’re doing that they’re also going to be receiving job training,” Supervisor Sue Frost said of the program.

Workers will put in 24 hours a week for 10 weeks, earning $12 an hour and also acquiring certificates that could help them transition into construction jobs. The county hopes that 40 people will graduate the program this year.

More at CapRadio.org >>>

Wednesday’s massive storm had rivers rising all around our area. In Sacramento County, the surge of water swept away toxic waste from homeless camps and sent it all downstream.

One section of Steelhead Creek, hit hard by toxic debris from homeless camps, grabbed the attention of geologist Roland Brady.

One day after the storm, Brady came out to see the aftermath.

“I wouldn’t drink it,” Brady said. “I would never drink it. What you’ll see are places that look like a solid waste disposal site, with a creek flowing through it.”

The storm is now sending all that waste through the delta and out to sea.

“And that’s what really frustrates me, is that there’s very good control over just about everything else, but here it just happens in an enormous volume, every time it rains,” Brady said.

Brady is a volunteer steward of a mile long section of Steelhead Creek, where homeless camps have created massive piles of waste and debris.

Photos show the mess along his section of the creek in December, ahead of the largest ever clean up in the creek’s history. Crews removed 100,000 pounds of homeless camp debris

“What we didn’t get, is in the water,” Brady said. “What we did get, is not in the water.”

Sacramento County approved $5 million in increased funds to clean up areas along the American River Parkway last year.

Brady says on Steelhead Creek, east of the El Camino bridge, no agency is claiming responsibility for cleaning as of now.

More at CBSLocal.com >>>

A portion of the American River Parkway bike trail in the Rancho Cordova area has collapsed Thursday due to erosion from rain.

Repair crews have closed off the surrounding area while they work on reducing damage from the erosion.

The Sacramento Valley has a higher risk of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon than anywhere else in the country, according to the Storm Prediction Shelter.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Sergio Garcia made a deadly dare and lost his life when he plunged into the icy, swift-flowing north fork American River near Auburn.

And while the 20-year-old Thornton college student’s June 2017 death in the canyon near Auburn was a tragedy, it moved State Parks rangers to introduce a new safety measure that is believed to have played a major role since then in preventing more lives lost since.

Superintendent Mike Howard of the Auburn State Recreation Area said that there were several close calls in the canyon but deaths this year on the river had not taken place.

And one of the reasons is believed to be a warning measure that came as a direct result of an electric board sign that was posted during the high-water period for a month after Garcia’s death, he said.

During the month the message to stay out of the water and stay alive was up, there were no fatalities in Auburn State Recreation Area related to the river. The river has two forks — the middle and north — that converge at the confluence in the canyon below Auburn.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>