Rafter third Poudre River fatality since Memorial Day
The Poudre River on Wednesday claimed its third victim in less than two weeks, raising concerns and reiterating the ever-present danger in a torrent that is raging more than it has in years past.
Emergency responders were called at 2:41 p.m. Wednesday to an area near Poudre Park northwest of Fort Collins on a report of a woman who was thrown from a private raft, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office said. Rescuers pulled the unresponsive woman from the water approximately 35 minutes after the initial call came in.
Medical crews appeared to be performing CPR on a patient on a stretcher en route to a waiting Air Link helicopter across the street at the Hewlett Gulch trailhead at 3:30 p.m. The 25-year-old woman was airlifted to Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, where she died Wednesday evening. The rafter has been identified as 26-year-old Rebecca Knight.
Before the woman was retrieved from the river, emergency personnel kept watch between the mouth of the Poudre Canyon and mile marker 110, an area more than 10 miles west of Ted's Place. County officials called for emergency swimmers to head up the Poudre Canyon shortly before 3 p.m., after someone spotted a single rafter wearing a blue helmet and green flotation vest floating face down the in river near Mishawaka Amphitheatre.
The woman was spotted approximately 16 minutes after authorities received a report that the raft she and three others were using had overturned. The three other rafters made it safely to land.
Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokesman Nick Christensen said he could not confirm whether the woman was wearing a life jacket or a helmet.
The woman is the third person to die at the grips of a swollen Poudre River in recent weeks. During Memorial Day weekend, a 14-year-old Greeley teen and his uncle died after the boy fell into the water and his uncle went in after him. The uncle was pulled from the river but died after being airlifted to a hospital, and the teen's body was recovered approximately 8 miles downstream from the Ouzel picnic area where he fell in.
Including Wednesday's death, 15 people have died as the result of incidents on the Poudre River's course through Larimer County since 1997, records from the coroner's office show.
Buoyed by recent rains and spring runoff, the Poudre River is running at 7.01 feet at the mouth of the canyon, nearing its minor flood stage. Flows are expected to decrease through the weekend. In Fort Collins, the river is flowing at 3,800 cubic feet per second, nearly five times its historical average for June 4.
"We're continuing to assess the conditions of the river," Christensen said Wednesday.
The sheriff's office has not yet restricted access to the river this year, but Christensen advised rafters to be a part of commercial trips if they want to enjoy the waters. Rafting companies typically have larger rafts that can handle the high waters, along with well-trained staff and regimented safety protocols.
The raft the woman was thrown from was privately owned and not associated with a commercial rafting company, the sheriff's office said.
It's not uncommon for rafts and kayaks to overturn in the Poudre River. What is uncommon, Christensen said, is the number of high-profile rescues that have happened in the past couple weeks.
"It's somewhat atypical," he said, adding later that normally, injuries aren't nearly as significant and rarely are people pulled from the raging waters unresponsive.
At a glance: Poudre River
Emergency officials on Wednesday staged their second water rescue operation in the Poudre River Canyon in less than two weeks, when a 25-year-old woman was retrieved from the fast-flowing river northwest of Fort Collins. Here's a look at the factors behind the rescues.
• Recreation season: Rising water levels in May usher in the start of whitewater rafting season in the Poudre River Canyon, when activity on the river greatly increases until water levels recede later in the year. May and June are also high time for other recreation in the canyon, as school ends and families go on mountain vacations and excursions.
• Plentiful water: Rains that led to September flooding kept Northern Colorado river levels high, and recent thunderstorms have pushed stream flows further. On Wednesday afternoon, the Poudre River ran near flood stage, at 7.01 feet at the mouth of the canyon. In Fort Collins, the stream was surging at 3,800 cubic feet per second, nearly five times its historical average for June 4.
• A history of incidents: Overturned rafts and kayaks aren't uncommon along the Poudre River, but injuries aren't typically significant, emergency officials say. However, 15 people have died as the result of incidents on the river since 1997. Over Memorial Day weekend, a 14-year-old Greeley teen and his uncle died after the boy fell into the water and his uncle went in after him.
Jason Pohl covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.