 Wed, Nov 19, 2008 03:57 PM
| 2005-10-13 |
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2008-07-03  Golden News | Clear Creek peaks
Warm weather and big snowpack prolongs swift water season in Golden
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| | By Meredith Knight |
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July 03, 2008
Luke Endris is a hero.
On Saturday, June 14, Endris jumped into Clear Creek when a young boy fell off his inner tube and was caught in an eddy behind the Golden Hotel. The police department did not release the boy's name.
As soon as Endris grabbed the boy he was sucked under by the creek as well.
"I thought, 'I gotta get out of this current, or I'm not going to be any good,'" Endris said.
Two more men, Dedi Sadagori and Sean Fitzgerald, then jumped in and took turns pushing the boy's head above water as they spun around in the rapid's eddy. The creek was running too fast for the three men to pull the boy to safety.
Golden's police department arrived at the scene and threw ropes to the men. Endris and the police were able to pull the boy to shore.
"People don't understand the force of this water, they get out there in just a tube," said Golden Fire Chief John Bales.
In Golden, Clear Creek peaked over the weekend of June 21 with water flows well above 800 cubic feet per second, according to instantaneous readings taken by the U.S. Geological Survey. Average discharge is about 750 cubic feet per second in late June. Endris was surprised by the strength of Clear Creek.
"When I first jumped in I thought I might have messed up because I didn't know it would be that strong," he said. Endris and his young son had been wading in the creek, but decided to get out because of the current shortly before the victim was trapped under the water.
The City of Golden has been trying to get the message out that tubing and swimming in the creek are not safe.
"Kayakers are probably the safest people on the water," Bales said. Kayakers wear helmets and life jackets that help prevent head injuries and drownings. Many also take classes to learn the sport.
Water flows will continue to be fast and dangerous as warm weather melts the last of the snow in the mountains over the next couple of weeks.
"Slow runoff extends the swift water season a little longer," Bales said.
Bales anticipated there would be continuing swift water through July because snowpack in the mountains was so deep this year. In June, snowpack was 146 percent of average statewide according to Colorado's Natural Resources Conservation Service.
People who want to enjoy the water are encouraged to go elsewhere.
"There are so many other places you can go to swim other than Clear Creek. It's not safe," Bales said.
The Golden Fire Department's swift water rescue team saves six to 10 people from the creek each year. Most are swimmers and people on inner tubes within Golden city limits.
The team has also been called out to car accidents in Clear Creek Canyon.
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