As crowds take to the water to cool off early this summer, authorities at Discovery Park, Folsom Lake and other capital region waterways are taking steps to prevent incidents like those that have occurred recently at other Northern California watering holes.
Since Memorial Day, several incidents involving fights and other unruly crowds have been reported on Northern California waterways, leading to arrests, injuries and even death.
A fight broke out at Lake Berryessa on Saturday, leaving one person dead from a gunshot wound and five others from stab wounds. One person among the injured was arrested on suspicion of taking his gun from his vehicle during the fight, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said.
In Stanislaus County, 75 to 80 people had a confrontation with officers patrolling near Woodward Reservoir on Sunday. At least six people were arrested.
And around Memorial Day, officials on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe closed Zephyr Cove and several other beaches after numerous reports of fights between tourists.
Sergeant Elmer Marzan of Sacramento County Regional Parks said he believes the county’s waterways are safe in part because alcohol is prohibited at certain spots along the American River Parkway and at Discovery Park near the confluence of the American. Officials also limit drinking along waterways during major summer holidays.
“We’ve been fortunate that nothing of that magnitude happened at Berryessa or Tahoe,” Marzan said.
Barry Smith, Chief Ranger of the Gold Fields District of California State Parks, pointed to alcohol bans at Folsom and Natoma lakes — as well as state park-specific rangers patrolling the area — as key factors in preventing incidents at the lake .
Folsom Lake’s beaches are especially busy in June and on days when temperatures rise above 90 degrees for the first time, Smith said, but he noticed a change in the way crowds behave since the alcohol ban on the shore in 2003 was issued. Officials also conduct DUI checkpoints for boats several times. during the summer.
“I saw the change where the beaches were really noisy, to where families started coming back,” Smith said.
While authorities can’t prevent all alcohol consumption at the lake, Smith said the complete ban on the lakes means lake visitors are more thoughtful about their consumption.
By continuously patrolling, rangers can evict people early in the day for alcohol consumption, preventing incidents that occur during the day.
On Sacramento County’s waterways, where alcohol consumption is legal in many places, authorities are emphasizing responsible drinking.
“We encourage people, watch your alcohol consumption because alcohol is usually a contributing factor to triggering events,” Marzan said. “Go ahead and behave accordingly, and enjoy it.”
The water level also has an effect on visitor numbers and crowds at the lake. High water levels early in the summer and in “good water years” tend to draw more people to the lake, Smith said.
“It’s an excitement,” Smith said. “People come out, they’re excited, and so sometimes it gets swamped.”
These high water levels also minimize available space for parking and shorten coastlines. What was once 100 meters of shoreline could be reduced to 25 to 30 metres, forcing visitors into tighter spaces.
Smith said attendance at state-run sites has normalized since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when beaches were flooded almost every day. Since the pandemic has subsided, weekends have returned to being the busiest days of the week.
“Our visitors need to be reminded that sometimes you have to curb that excitement and be respectful,” Smith said. “Everyone is in the same boat and wants to come to the lake.”
