WALNUT GROVE — Down by Walnut Grove, there’s extra than simply rocks and filth on the backside of the Sacramento River.
“If you do not have the suitable gear, then it is a actually robust place to be,” stated Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Mike Keegan.
The county Sheriff’s Workplace can see every little thing due to sonar and new water rescue expertise — every little thing from enhanced cameras to cell rovers. The workplace has had this gear for roughly three years nevertheless it has made a distinction throughout a tricky spring season.
“Whereas the American River is beginning to clear up a bit, [over on] the Sacramento River, there’s nonetheless hardly any visibility,” Keegan stated. “So common swim and rescue strategies are going to be tough with low visibility.”
That is particularly within the murky waters of the Sacramento River.
“That is the place our search and rescue gear comes into play,” Keegan stated. “That sonar can see by way of the silt.”
There’s a complicated set of feelings when using this expertise. That is when rescues are as a substitute recoveries.
“There are these instances the place we might not even be on scene till a day later and we all know that there is not an opportunity of surviving,” Keegan defined.
In any case, the expertise nonetheless can save lives — or on the very least, present closure.
“When that is the state of affairs, is the one alternative now we have is to carry them again, we’ll do every little thing we will,” Keegan stated.
Andrew Haubner
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