TWO RESCUED FROM KERN RIVER

The Bakersfield Fire Swift Water Rescue Team had to pull a young man and woman to safety when their raft overturned in the Kern River.

Battalion Chief Anthony Galagaza told KGET-TV that it happened Monday afternoon north of Hart Park and the victims were found clinging to a tree branch about 15ft. from shore. Neither person was wearing a life vest, but Galagaza warns that may not have been enough to save them if they got pulled down by the current, which is 11 times stronger this year as snowmelt adds to the flow.

Suzanne Grant