News Release from: Clackamas Fire Dist. #1
FAMILY OF FIVE RESCUED FROM MOLALLA RIVER
Posted: June 3rd, 2012 4:36 PM
Clackamas Fire's Water Rescue 8 along with members of the Clackamas Water Rescue Consortium responded just shy of midnight on June 2nd to a reported marine rescue with Molalla Fire Department on the Molalla River, 7.9 miles past 36119 S. Dickey Prairie Road on Molalla Forest Road. A family member called 911 to report 5 members of her family were swept down the river while fishing and now on the far river bank from the road and unable to get back across. It was later discovered that the group had crossed the river in shallow water during daylight hours and then were unable to find the shallow route back across when it became dark. The family also reported that the family dog had fallen into the river and experienced a near-drowning episode however they resuscitated the animal using CPR. The family started a fire with the father's shirt to keep warm until rescuers arrived.
Rescue Crews set up an inflatable craft known as a Rapid Deployment Craft Raft (RDC) on a line tether and rowed out to victims. All five victims were mildly hypothermic but otherwise uninjured. All victims were placed in life jackets and shuttled across the river using the Rapid Deployment Craft. The rescue was a collaborative effort by the Clackamas County Swift Water Rescue Consortium which included units from Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Gladstone and Lake Oswego Fire Departments. The entire operation took nearly three hours.
Clackamas Fire and the Swift Water Rescue Consortium would like to remind people to dress appropriately for hostile conditions when visiting wilderness recreation sites and to be aware of their surroundings as conditions can change quickly.
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