What was supposed to be a quaint paddle across Lemon Reservoir left a kayaker stranded 100 yards from shore after his inflatable boat sank into the chilly waters.
The man immediately began blowing on a rescue whistle affixed to his personal flotation device, said Bruce Evans, chief of the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District. That alerted a family taking high school senior pictures on the shore. As luck would have it, the father, Josh Hoffman, a former U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer, immediately sprang into action.
“(The family) heard the whistle, saw the guy floundering out in the water, and (Hoffman) jumped in to go rescue him and pull him back in,” Evans said. “The family texted the 911 center and reported the emergency, and then we responded.”
Evans said some Upper Pine personnel are trained in swift water rescue. Rescue personnel immediately donned special dry suits while others stood on the shore with throw lines to pull them and the individual back in.
Evans was unable to share the man’s identity because of privacy protections outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
By the time Upper Pine arrived, the former Coast Guard swimmer had made it to the stranded man. Evans said the rescue swimmers with Upper Pine then pulled him in the rest of the way.
“Once we got the guy in, we got him up the hill and into the back of the ambulance,” Evans said. “We realized he was probably moderately hypothermic, and took him down to Mercy. He was in rough enough shape to be admitted and quickly discharged.”
According to water temperature readings from fishing website Lake Monster, Lemon Reservoir was 61 degrees on Monday – a day after the rescue occurred.
The National Weather Service stated on its website that hypothermia, when a person’s core body temperature sinks below 95 degrees and impedes breathing, heart rate and blood pressure is especially dangerous in waters 60 degrees and below. That is why it is important to know the temperature of a body of water and wear protective clothing and equipment, like neoprene wetsuits and PFDs.
“When your body hits cold water, ‘Cold Shock’ can cause dramatic changes in breathing, heart rate and blood pressure,” the NWS says. “When Cold Shock and Hypothermia begin to impact your ability to think and act, lifejackets and flotation can create extra time for help to arrive or for you to get out of danger.”
Evans, a whitewater kayaker, said that fall in the mountains is a tricky time to know how to prepare adequately. While the air temperature may be warm and sunny, water temperatures can be significantly colder.
“It’s really important to know what the water temperature is,” Evans said. “Make sure you got you got the right protective clothes on, then make sure your PFD is properly outfitted.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
