Rafter without life jacket rescued from Cosumnes River in Sacramento County, Metro Fire says

Fire crews in Sacramento County rescued a rafter who was swept downstream Monday afternoon in the Cosumnes River.

The male rafter, who was not wearing a life jacket and was rafting with friends, became separated from his tire raft around 4:30 p.m. on the river near Rancho Murieta, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials said in a social media post.

Metro Fire and Folsom Fire Department crews responded, and a rescue swimmer safely returned the victim to shore, authorities said. He was reunited with family.

Northern California rivers are unsafe for recreation, public safety officials in the Sacramento region and the Sierra Nevada foothills have warned for weeks. Though air temperatures have warmed up, waterways are running cold and extremely fast for this time of year due to record-setting Sierra snowpack levels.

With Memorial Day weekend approaching, forecasts called for the American River to be flowing Tuesday at 15,000 cubic feet per second near Folsom Lake, Sacramento County Regional Parks said in a social media post.

“This is incredibly swift and dangerous,” and about eight times faster than the river normally runs this time of year, county parks officials said.

Several drownings have been reported since April on rivers in Northern California and the Central Valley.

Two children – an 8-year-old girl and her 4-year-old brother – died after falling Sunday afternoon into the Kings River in Fresno County.

Authorities reported two swimmer drownings on the American River in Placer County, on April 29 and May 14, as well the death of a 17-year-old kayaker on the South Yuba River in Nevada County on April 19.