Marine Deputies Swamped Over Holiday Weekend
Some boaters ran aground this weekend because there was too much water in Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Two groups of Spokane River rafters, meanwhile, were caught bobbing perilously close to the wide-open Washington Water Power dam at Post Falls.
And one riverboat captain was cursing Mother Nature after he was forced to ply his trade on - perish the thought - the lake.
Sunny skies and a busy Memorial Day weekend kept the Kootenai County sheriff’s marine crew swamped for three straight days, said Sgt. Dan Soumas.
Deputies were even called Monday to rescue a stray dog that had tumbled into the Spokane River and out onto a tiny plot of ground inaccessible by land.
While the weekend on the water was free of serious injury in Idaho, a 14-year-old girl drowned in Medical Lake on Sunday. Elsa Everson of Medical Lake was pulled from the water about 5 p.m. by Spokane County sheriff’s divers.
In Kootenai County, unseasonably high water created trouble for boaters not used to the water after a winter off.
Deputies salvaged at least two boats in separate accidents after they cruised too far down the river from the lake. Once passed the Greensferry area, the boats hit tree stumps that normally would be under water.
The problem: A winter and spring of heavy rain means the lake still is above summer levels. To prevent even more flooding at the south and east ends, WWP has the dam wide open, which thins the water near Templin’s Resort in Post Falls.
That’s a problem for Capt. Dennis Walton, who pilots The Spokane River Queen, a ferry for tourists based at Templin’s.
“My dock is on dry land,” a frustrated Walton said. “That means I can’t get there to pick up passengers.”
Walton got one run on Saturday, but was washed out the other two days.
“That Mother Nature is throwing us a whammy,” said Walton, who is stuck, for now, tooling around the lake. “It’s a drag. I’d rather be on the river than anywhere.”
The water level also is deceptive. Sheriff’s deputies found a raft with two teenagers in it and another with an adult and a child playing by the yellow dam barricade.
Deputies also found kids playing in a swimming area near Post Falls’ Corbin Park - three miles downstream from the dam - where the water is unpredictable enough to rush them downstream.
“It’s not a safe place to be,” Soumas said.
He urged boaters and river users to be extra cautious until the dam closes. That could be as late as mid-June, he said.
, DataTimes MEMO: IDAHO HEADLINE: Marine deputies swamped over weekend