Wednesday

High Water River Safety from Mike Garcia


Mike Garcia gives KTVM a quick river safety lesson.

"I think we all hurry to our recreation and in the water I think that's a little problematic, so you want to make sure you are properly prepared for anything the river throws at you. As the river rises and gets to historic highs it picks up all the debris, new trees fall in the river...that type of floating debris is a real big danger in the river, you want to stay away from wood at all costs", Garcia said.  "To stay safe you need a properly equipped boat, a properly equipped body and always check the water levels before you leave."

Mike's checklist for river safety:

1. Life jacket, life jacket, life jacket!
2. Helmet
3. Throw bags for each person on the boat
4. Float bags
5. Dry bags with warm, dry, synthetic clothes. (Leave the cotton in the car!) You should also have some food, energy bars, etc in there.
6. Dry top & bottoms
7. Fleece top & pants
8. Neoprene booties & gloves
9. Rescue knife
10. A paddling parnter

For more info on river levels, visit http://mt.water.usgs.gov/

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