Boaters urged to use caution on Folsom Lake. Here’s the danger lurking beneath the surface

Large trees knocked down by wildfires and storms are among debris flowing into Folsom Lake and creating a potential hazard for boaters, according to California state park officials.

Joshua Jaco, a state park spokesman, said that in dry years, the water does not come up high enough to take every tree that may have fallen, so the debris builds up.

“Those trees normally sit along the shoreline,” Jaco said. “If the water doesn’t come up high enough to take those out, they don’t enter the water system. Now that the water is coming up, it’s picking up debris from the last several years of low water and bringing it down into the main body of the lake.”

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The inflow of water increased due to storms that pummeled the Sacramento region at the beginning of the year, Jaco said.

Jaco said the debris is mostly floating, but there is some that is heavy and submerged just beneath the surface. Because of this, the state park has erected signs that encourage boaters to slow down.

Contractors for the state are out picking up debris off the shore, according to park officials.

“They’re slowly pulling all that debris off the lake, but it’s a laborious process and it’s going to take a little bit of time,” Jaco said.

Contact with debris can result in costly vessel damage and put people’s lives at risk, according to the National Ocean Service.

Folsom Lake Yacht Club’s 56th Camellia Cup Regatta at Brown’s Ravine on Saturday and Sunday should be unaffected by debris, provided boaters exercise caution, Jaco said.