Category Archives: safety

Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

State Water Project allocation is slashed

The California Department of Water Resources has reduced its estimate of the amount of water the State Water Project will deliver this year.

DWR on Wednesday dropped its projected delivery total, or allocation, from 60 percent to 50 percent of the requested amount of slightly more than 4 million acre-feet.

‘’Stubbornly dry conditions this winter give us no choice but to roll back our water supply estimate,” says DWR Director Mark Cowin. “We continue to hope, however, that wetter conditions in the remaining winter weeks will allow us to boost deliveries back up.”

DWR says that precipitation so far this winter has been only about half of normal and the mountain snowpack is less than a third of normal.

Water Year (Oct. 1-Sept. 30) runoff from rain and snow is forecasted to be far below average in both the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River systems. The median runoff forecast of 9.4 million acre-feet for the Sacramento River system would be the 16th driest in 106 years.

The February 1 median water year runoff forecast of 3.2 million acre-feet for the San Joaquin River system would be the 21st driest in 111 years.

Average runoff is 18.3 million acre-feet for the Sacramento system, and 5.9 million acre-feet for the San Joaquin.

Much of California’s water comes from the mountainous country from Shasta Lake in the north to the American River basin in the south. DWR’s eight precipitation gages covering this area recorded an impressive 130 percent of average rainfall and snow in October, but only 43 percent in November, 4 percent of average in December, 84 percent of average in January, and 18 percent of a normal February total to date this month. Overall, this “Eight-Station Index” area to date is at 51percent of its seasonal precipitation average. Records go back to 1920.

More at CentralValleyBusinessTimes.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fish, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Federal Partnership Helps State Parks; 25-Year Agreement Signed

State and local officials gathered in Auburn on Tuesday morning to celebrate the signing of the new Managing Partner Agreement for the Folsom and Auburn State Recreation Areas.

The agreement is between the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the State Parks Department for the next 25 years.

It means that state parks will continue to manage the Folsom and Auburn State Recreation Areas. These areas consist of Folsom Lake, Lake Natoma and the Auburn Project Lands, including Lake Clementine.

The area covered represents 50,000 acres of land and waterways.

More at KCRA.com >>>
Bike Trail, Fire, safety

Arrest made in killing of burned woman at Discovery Park

An arrest has been made in the killing of a woman whose burned body was found Tuesday in Discovery Park.

Sacramento police said today they have arrested Robert Thompson, 36, on suspicion of homicide in the killing of the still-unidentified female.

It will take several days to make a positive identification of the severely burned body that was found by a passing bicyclist. Police say the body was burned beyond recognition.

Race and age are not known, police said. While the cause of death has yet to be determined, the woman suffered upper body trauma, according to a press release from the police department.

Police said that since the woman has not been identified, they cannot yet release the relationship between the victim and Thompson.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Rafting, safety, Water

Boy Scouts will sell campground in Sacramento

Camp Pollock, the historic Sacramento campground where generations of Northern California boys have practiced their Scouting skills, is soon to be on the sales block, officials have confirmed.

One potential buyer? SafeGround, the nonprofit group that is seeking to establish a place in Sacramento where homeless people can live in small cottages with basic services.

“The executive board has made a decision to sell the camp,” said Paul Helman, president of the Golden Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

He said the council, which oversees the activities of 20,000 Scouts from Vacaville to Redding, has outgrown the Sacramento property, which stretches over 10 acres off Northgate Boulevard along the American River. Members, he said, are concerned about encroaching development and traffic.

More at Sacbee.com >>>

Bike Trail, safety

Dead body found at Discovery Park

A dead body was found at Discovery Park early Tuesday morning.

Police said a cyclist was riding through the park when they noticed burning leaves.  The cyclist called the fire department who came out and extinguished the fire.  After putting out the flames, firefighters discovered the burned body of what they believed to be a female.

More at News10.net >>>

safety, Water, Wildlife

Deer Trapped In Frigid Canal Waters Pulled To Safety

Sacramento Metro fire crews had to use their skills and training to rescue a helpless deer trapped Tuesday in the frigid waters of a canal near the American River.

Just before noon, the deer somehow became trapped in the drainage canal in the area of White Rock and International Drive. The powerful current forced the deer north down the canal.

When fire crews arrived at the scene, they found the deer unsuccessfully making an effort to get out of the canal. The deer — believed to be a couple of years old — kept sliding back into the water because of the slippery slopes of the canal.It was unknown how long the deer was trapped in the canal before fire crews arrived at the scene.

Firefighters decided to make a rescue attempt and got a raft into the canal. A crew in the raft was able to lasso the animal and pull it ashore.

More at KCRA.com >>>

safety, Water

Body found below Foresthill Bridge identified

The Placer County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office has identified the man found in the American River Tuesday morning as Peter Matthew Wynters, 30, from Newport Oregon.

An autopsy revealed that Wynters died from injuries consistent with jumping from the Foresthill Bridge. His body was found by a hiker in the water at 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, directly under the span. The man’s body was recovered with the assistance of the sheriff’s dive team and helicopter.

More at AburnJournal.com >>>

safety, Water

Body found in American River below Foresthill Bridge near Auburn still not ID’d

A man whose body was found in the American River below Foresthill Bridge near Auburn remained unidentified Thursday.

The Placer County coroner said the man’s body was spotted by a hiker late Tuesday morning floating in the North Fork of the American River. The location was just below the 730-foot-high bridge.

Lt. Mark Reed said Thursday that despite a call out to the public for help in identifying the body, no information had been received to match a name to the corpse.

An autopsy was being performed to determine the cause of death, Reed added.

The man is described as a white male, in his late 20s to early 40s. He is 5-feet, 5-inches tall and weighs 169 pounds. He has brown hair with a receding hairline, hazel eyes and a full beard.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

Bike Trail, safety

American River Parkway crimes decline, despite cuts in ranger staffing

Despite budget cuts and reductions in the number of park rangers, crime along the American River Parkway dropped dramatically last year, new figures from Sacramento County indicate.

Car break-ins, violent crime and misdemeanors all dropped in 2011 compared to the previous year, according to a ranger report released this week.

The only segment that saw an appreciable increase in activity was in the number of citations issued for illegal camping, an outgrowth of efforts by officials to stem the influx of homeless camping along the lower end of the parkway near Discovery Park.

Some attribute the decrease to the overall drop in the crime rate, a phenomenon that has been seen in jurisdictions nationwide.

More at SacBee.com >>>

safety, Water

Identity Sought Of Man Pulled From American River

The Placer County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying a man whose body was found in the American River Tuesday morning directly underneath the Foresthill Bridge.

A hiker called the sheriff’s office Tuesday at around 11 a.m. to report that she saw a body floating in the water. The man’s body was recovered with the assistance of the sheriff’s dive team and helicopter.

More at Sacramento.cbslocal.com >>>