SACRAMENTO, California — As many families head to our local rivers and lakes, Sacramento's Drowning Accident Rescue Team [DART] wants to remind the public to take extra precautions during the holiday weekend.
"This is going to be a busy weekend for us and all of our public safety partners," said DART's spokesman, Cole Glenwright.
DART volunteers have been out every weekend since Memorial Day working to educate the public on water safety and what to do if they fall in the river.
Before their safety program launched in 2015, Glenwright says there was an average of 12 to 15 drownings each year. In the last 4 years, however, he says it's been 0 to 1.
"It's much more common that we'll teach someone how to wear a lifejacket, encourage them how to put it on, teach them about areas they shouldn't be swimming in perhaps, versus actually effecting rescues," Glenwright explained.
"So I wouldn't attribute it to us people pulling people out of the water at the last minute – it's much more about people being smart, being safe when they're out on the river," he added.
Glenwright wants the community to keep in mind that the river is still very dangerous during this time of the year.
"[It's] going to be colder than you'll probably expect, a little faster moving than it may look from the surface, so make you’re taking those extra precautions if you’re going to be out on the river," said Glenwright.