A group of Westside kayakers are safe after being rescued from the Yakima River in Kittitas County over the weekend. The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office says its marine unit deputies responded to an area of the river near Cle Elum on Friday morning after receiving reports that a party of six kayakers were in distress. Sheriff’s officials said three couples (three men and three women) from Sequim comprised the party, who’d all put in the river near South Cle Elum before experiencing an emergency a short distance downstream near Hanson Ponds Road.
Deputies report that four of the six had overturned in heavy rapids and were thrown from their kayaks, while the remaining two were able to stay upright and travel downstream to a gravel bar where they left the water. One of the kayakers who overturned was able to clutch a fallen tree and make it safely to shore, while another was swept past two logjams by the swift waters before finding their way out of the water onto a small island in the middle of the river.The remaining two who went into the water after overturning managed to stay afloat until they arrived at the same gravel bar that the kayakers who stayed upright had safely arrived upon.
Deputies launched a rescue boat and gathered each member of the party from their marooned positions and brought them safely to shore through the choppy waters. Sheriff’s officials say although each member of the party was equipped with a life jacket, only two were actually wearing theirs during the act of kayaking, while three of the remaining four all had their jackets tied to their kayaks and were unable to outfit them after overturning.
All six members of the party reportedly escaped the incident with only minor injuries such as scrapes and bruises.
The Sheriff’s Office says the incident serves as yet another reminder for recreators on the Yakima River and other bodies of water in the county to always be well prepared and actually wear a life jacket when going on or in the water for any reason.
The agency added the Yakima is running high and fast at the moment due to heavy irrigation demands from regional farmers, and that the only safe place to currently float the river using any personal vessel is in the Lower Yakima River Canyon.