On the first day of summer, standing in the sparse shade of trees lining the American River, Patrick Ellis eyed a group of rafters as they swept toward a bike\/pedestrian bridge near Sunrise Boulevard.<\/p>\n
“These guys, their rafts are tied together, they’re not wearing life preservers, not even attempting to paddle,” Ellis said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Ellis, a battalion chief with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, knew that hours before, the current had caught a similar group and smacked a raft against a pylon as they tried to pass under the bridge. Two rafters fell into the river and swam to shore. Two others clung to the pylon until a rescue boat picked them up.<\/p>\n
Now, Ellis saw the makings of yet another water rescue \u2013 potentially the sixth on the river in 24 hours.<\/p>\n
As he tracked their progress from shore, the two rafts disappeared for a moment under the bridge. Then they came rushing through, untouched, and resumed their drift downriver.<\/p>\n
“They’re lucky,” Ellis said.<\/p>\n
More at the Sacramento Bee<\/a>. >>><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the first day of summer, standing in the sparse shade of trees lining the American River, Patrick Ellis eyed a group of rafters as they swept toward a bike\/pedestrian bridge near Sunrise Boulevard. “These guys, their rafts are tied together, they’re not wearing life preservers, not even attempting to paddle,” Ellis said Tuesday. Ellis, … Continue reading Patrols scramble to rescue overwhelmed rafters on American River<\/span>