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With Hot Modesto summers and the upcoming Fourth-of-July holiday, comes the enticement of picnics along
the Tuolumne River. Even though it’s illegal to do, for many it also means a chance to take a cool dip into,
what is normally a slow meandering river. After an extremely wet winter, the Tuolumne flows are frigidly swift,
and expect to be, well into the early summer. Unfortunately, this is all to often a prescription for disaster.
While we don’t recommend anyone swim in the river, in an effort to minimize the potential for accidental
drowning along the Tuolumne River Regional Park, the Modesto Fire Department has purchased 200 life jackets
for use by citizens who choose to recreate along the waterway. The life jackets will be available, free of
charge, to be loaned for our citizen’s use. In association with the Modesto Fire Department, members of the
Modesto area CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) will be on hand at
Fire Station 1 and along the Tuolumne River, on weekends through the
July Fourth holiday. Fire Captain Mark Greenlee, who coordinates the Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team, is
heading up this potentially life saving endeavor. According to Captain Greenlee, “Remember, life jackets
aren’t like clothes, children don’t grow into them. The life jacket must fit the person in order to be
effective.” The CERT program is made up of interested citizens who have undertaken a course of study,
taught by Modesto Fire Department Instructors, to provide emergency assistance to their neighbors during
disasters.
Life Jackets may be checked out from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00p.m. at
Fire Station 1, located at 610 11th Street in Modesto. They will be available every weekend through the July
Fourth holiday. To check out a life jacket, all that is needed is, that the borrower be 18 years of age and
complete a short registration form, with name, address, phone number and drivers license information. Life
jackets may be checked out for the day or the entire weekend. For additional information, citizens may call
the Modesto Fire Department at 209-572-9597.
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