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Along Tumwater Canyon, mile marker 97, a quickly moving but calm section of the Wenatchee River, seen in foreground, quickly turns into the hazardous rapids called "Chaos." The dropoff to the rapids is in the background. This area of the river has been the site of a death in 2003 and two in 2006. (World photo/Don Seabrook)

"Watch his head ... Don't let him drown," swift-water rescuer Richelle Wilson called out. "Turn him over."

"Towards me?" said her teammate Brent Corbaley.

"Yeah," Wilson said as they heaved Totten onto his back.

After a moment, Totten's eyes popped open and a smile spread wide across his face.

"Good job you guys," said Totten, a swift-water rescue instructor.

The June 25 practice was part of the first day of seasonal training for the Chelan County Swift Water Rescue Team as it gets ready for a long and perhaps busy season on the Wenatchee River.

"The more training you do, the better off you'll be in the situation," Totten said.

When river rescue calls start rolling in, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office is hoping a few recent changes will improve response times.

The Swift Water Rescue headquarters moved to Cashmere from Leavenworth, so the team can get to the scene faster, said Sgt. Rob Huddleston, marine patrol coordinator for the sheriff's office.

Response times on swift-water calls range from 15 minutes to a half hour before a first responder can assess the situation, Huddleston said. Rounding up equipment and volunteers can add up to another half hour, depending on location.

"The majority of calls we get are from Leavenworth to the mouth of the Wenatchee," Huddleston said. "Cashmere is more centrally located."

Plus, several members of the swift-water team live in the Cashmere area, Huddleston said.

About 24 people are on the call list. The team includes several fire departments, commercial raft guides, longtime river rafters and Chelan County sheriff deputy Mike Mcleod.

Huddleston said the sheriff's office will also ramp up life jacket patrols along the river. Any commercial-style watercrafts, including privately owned rafts and canoes, must carry enough life jackets for everyone on board. Children under 12 must wear them, Huddleston said.

The sheriff's office is also working with commercial rafting companies to try to identify the most dangerous spots on the river. Huddleston's goal is to eventually post warning signs either before the hazard or at several of the many drop-in points along the river, he said.

"That's the pie in the sky of what I want to do," Huddleston said.

Two drowning deaths last year sparked a public outcry for more warning signs and other safety measures.

Elizabeth Ellis, 50, of Escondido, Calif., was tubing near Wenatchee River County Park and drowned in a logjam Aug. 2. Three days later, Jillian Ward, a 26-year-old Selah woman, drowned in a logjam about 2,000 feet away.

Chelan County denied requests to remove the logjams, citing a lengthy permitting process that would involve several government agencies.

The county has no plans to remove woody debris along the Wenatchee this summer, said Mike Kaputa, director of the county Department of Natural Resources. In 2007, county officials said they could not remove debris quickly because of state and federal environmental requirements.

"We recognize the river is a dangerous place, but we're not going to remove all the safety hazards out there," Kaputa said. The county is planning a public forum in September on the topic of woody debris in the Wenatchee and Entiat rivers, Kaputa said.

"We're going to be talking about fish habitat projects and safety issues," Kaputa said. The day and place have not been set, he said.

What to watch out for

High flows bring different dangers than low water later in the season.

"When the water's high it's usually cold out, and most people who raft it are experienced," Totten said. "High water's not the killer. Most accidents we see around here are tubers when it's hot."

Freshly melted, the cold water can start causing hypothermic symptoms within three minutes, depending on the person's clothing, Huddleston said. The most common symptom is loss of motor skills.

When summer temperatures peak and the water slows and warms, the recreationalists emerge in force with their bathing suits and beer coolers, rope ties and "Kmart killers," as the long-time rafters call the vinyl rafts.

"I will say I've found many, many remains of vinyl rafts (on the river)," said kayaker John Marshall. "Many people who start down don't finish in those things."

As the water level drops, downed logs and large boulders are more apt to flip tubes and pull swimmers underneath the water. The best maneuver for swimming out of a logjam is to swim straight for it and try and jump on top of the pile before your legs are swept under, Marshall said.

"The standard river advice is to keep your feet downstream but in regard to sweepers (logjams), it's exactly opposite," Marshall said.

Tubers should look out for significant drops in the river or big bends, where debris piles up, said Dave Johnson, owner of Tube Leavenworth.

When in doubt get out of the water and see what's ahead on foot first.

"If you're going privately and you're not familiar with the river, this year wait another month until August or go with a professional outfitter," Johnson said. "We're happy to share information with people who call. We have waterproof maps with landmarks, so people have an idea where they're going."

The two women trapped in a logjam last year were the first reported tubing deaths in 14 years, according to The Wenatchee World archives.

In the last 14 years, 20 people have died on the Wenatchee River.

"The river's forgiving 98 percent of the time, and then it can be really unforgiving," said rafter and rescuer Harland Sheppard. "Typically most accidents involve alcohol, inexperience or no flotation device. So if you combine those three, you've got a recipe for disaster."

Of the average 10 swift-water calls a year, two are usually fatal, Huddleston said.

Many rescues aren't reported. Every day someone is separated from their boat, falls out of their raft or is involved in some other harmless mishap easily handled by commercial or private rafting pros.

"There have been several cases where you see people going down and you just help them out while you're on the river and it never gets reported," said Jean-luc Robichaux, a longtime kayaker and swift-water rescuer.

The Wenatchee River is a relatively safe place to play considering the frequency of experienced rafters along the river, said Gary Planagan, owner of Osprey Rafting in Leavenworth.

"That's why there are more commercial outfits here because it's such a low-hazard river," Planagan said.

At the end of the day, preparedness makes the difference, Sheppard said.

"Remembering you can drown in a bathtub keeps it all in perspective," Sheppard said. "You need to respect the river, know where you're going and have the right equipment, whether it's a wetsuit to keep warm or a life jacket to stay afloat, or good boats."


Rachel Schleif: 664-7139; This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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