Bend spillway rescue offers hot-weather warning

A man on an inner tube floating the Deschutes River Tuesday afternoon held onto the Colorado Avenue Bridge in Bend until rescuers arrived, so he didn’t go through the turbulent spillway that has caused injuries, even deaths in past years, officials said.

Bend Fire and Rescue’s water rescuers were called to the dam spillway around 1:30 p.m. for the reported person in the inner tube, unable to get out of the water, said Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki.

They were able to quickly help the man out of the water, using a ladder, he said.

The man had rented the inner tube from a vendor along the river, Derlacki said, and he had been warned of the spillway and the swift current.

Derlacki said the man, who was wearing a life jacket, told rescuers that the current was much stronger than he expected, and kept him from maneuvering to the takeout above the bridge.

Bend fire crews train for rescues at the spillway each year and are experienced in such rescues, Derlacki said.

He reminded everyone that the Deschutes is a fast-moving river that can be very dangerous, especially near the spillway. Derlacki said there are many warning signs along the river, to help guide floaters to the takeout point.

The water looks calm, Derlacki wrote in a news release, but moves very fast, with a lot of force. Still, Derlacki said that those who heed the warning signs have “plenty of time to make it safely to shore and walk around the bridge/spillway to continue to float.”

“Wearing a life jacket greatly increases your safety in and around the water,” he added.