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MORGAN COUNTY – Flood stage-level waters in the Weber River are drawing concern among volunteer members of the swift water rescue team in Morgan County.
Morgan County Swift Water Rescue Captain Eric Turner says people should stay out of the river until things calm down.
“Right now that river is still rising, it is still coming up,” Turner said. “It’s hard to negotiate that because the conditions on the river change hour(ly), daily.”
Turner says a family of five lost their raft Tuesday afternoon as it collided with a pile of logs and branches, and deflated.
“Two of them were able to get out onto the debris in the middle of the river,” Turner explained. “The third one ended up on the opposite bank of the river, and three of the family ended up getting out on the right side of the river.”
Rescue team members used rafts to the family members to safety. No one was hurt. Turner says the area where the family got caught was just south of Henefer.
“It’s extremely technical in that stretch of the river,” Turner said. “You really have to know what you’re doing in order to be on that section of river.”
Turner says the family was wearing life jackets but were not prepared for the flood-stage waters. Even as the waters recede, however, he says people looking to float the river should always wear a life-jacket, shoes that will not fall off, and avoid being under the influence of alcohol.
