Northern California residents seek relief from heat at American River
By Maricela De La Cruz
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RANCHO CORDOVA, California (KCRA) — As a heatwave hits Sacramento, people are flocking to the American River to escape the high temperatures and enjoy the refreshing water.
“August is one of my favorites because that’s when the water is the most amazing, even if it’s a little cold. With the hot weather, you don’t mind it, and you can actually get in without going uh,” said Jeremy Mendoza, who was out enjoying the river.
Kenny Overcast, visiting from the Bay Area, expressed his excitement about experiencing a “real summer.”
“Cool summer, so I’m out here on the American River to actually feel what summer feels like and enjoy the river to cool down,” he said.
Rafting companies are experiencing a surge in business due to the heatwave.
“This 100-degree weekend is all about people starting to think about how to cool off and still have fun in the sun, so we see a huge spike in reservations as we get these heat waves,” said Kent Hansen from American River Raft Rentals.
“For me, it’s kind of a drag because on cooler days, it’s like you get in the water and you don’t really want to submerge as much. To where on days like this, where we’re looking at that’s going to be like 102 today, it’s perfect for like half in, half out all day,” Mendoza said.
Safety remains a priority for those heading to the river.
“There’s a lot of things that can make rafting safer,” Hansen said. “Number one is buying or using something intended for the river. Obviously, thin material is what you’re going to get when you go to Walmart, Costco, or anything like that. People get smaller-sized things and first of all, they don’t bring paddles, so that makes it hard to navigate, and then, they tie those cheap things together, and that makes it even harder to navigate, to move away from the obstacles you see downstream.”
Mark Nuñez from Sacramento Metro Fire highlighted the potential dangers of the river.
“It is really enjoyable, but the further you go out and the deeper you go, the water is actually still really cold,” Nuñez said.
He advised caution at popular spots like the Claybanks.
“We want to make sure that they know about the dynamics of it, and that includes the fact that water here is very cold, it’s moving very fast, and it’s also very deep. There’s also channels along this portion of the river that actually drop off very quickly,” he said.
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