BOISE, Idaho — The Boise River continues to flow high, fast and cold as the Boise Fire Department urges floaters to stay off the river this weekend.
"We have already had one fatality in the river and we have had multiple rescues," said Capt. Scott Hall of the Boise Fire Department.
The water is running at 5,600 cubic feet per second and the Fire Department advises people to wait until that flow comes down to 1,500 cfs, even if that takes a while.
"We are saying the river should not be accessed by normal floaters at this time. Even the water experts aren’t going down to the Boise River right now because it is not a safe place to recreate," said Hall.
Every year before the float season kicks off, the Boise Fire Department goes down the river and eliminates dangerous hazards, but they haven't had a chance to do that yet this year because of the high water.
The river has a lot of debris in it and many strainers have formed," said Hall. "We do our best to mitigate those throughout the season but right now we have an extraordinary number of those hazards that exist."
Wood is one of the most dangerous hazards in any river. They are called 'strainers' because, if people get caught in one, the water continues to move through, but you may not.
Even with life jackets, strainers can be deadly, as humans do not have enough strength to fight back against the power of the current. And rescue attempts are dangerous.
Strainers can be hard to avoid when the river is moving so fast, not to mention that the river is also still really cold.
Boise Fire hopes they won't have to make any rescues this weekend and they want to remind the public that if a rescue is needed, the person being rescued is responsible for the cost.
"The weather is looking pretty nice and warm, but the river is not a safe place to be at the moment," said Hall.
If you are looking for other ways to cool off this weekend there are several lakes and reservoirs in the area. Roaring Springs just opened and they have several new amenities, and if you really want to get on a river, the rafting companies will safely take you down the Main Payette.
