Cloudbursts, quarter-sized hail, and wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour on Sunday, June 21, stranded some boaters on the American Falls Reservoir. Calls came in to the Power County Sheriff’s Office concerning a yellow boat that was sinking, and Power County Search and Rescue, an all-volunteer team, responded with three boats and two jet skis despite the danger to themselves. Marine Patrol Supervisor Pete Williams helped coordinate both efforts and also went out in a boat to help look.
“I’ve been in 10-foot swells before, but nothing like this,” Williams said. The 12-foot swells had green water washing up over the cabin of the Search and Rescue boat.
After the Search and Rescue boats launched, they discovered a boat in distress at the mouth of the American Falls Marina and were notified that the boat had been found. But Williams noted the boat was white, not the yellow boat of the original call, so after helping the white boat to safety, the team went back out.
They found the yellow boat with its crew bailing water as quickly as possible and started getting them to safety. As the Search and Rescue boat rounded Rocky Point, they discovered another boat beached among the willows. Both boats were safely taken to Seagull Bay.
“People need to realize once they see those black clouds, they need to get off the reservoir,” said Williams.