Officials urge safety on Oklahoma lakes as weekend festivities begin
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Published: July 4, 2009
More boating accidents occur during the Fourth of July weekend than any other time of the year, and state officials say alcohol use is the reason.
"I would say 90 percent of our boating accidents and drownings are alcohol related,” said Lt. Kurt McKean of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lake Division. "It’s becoming an epidemic.”Multimedia
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FORECAST
Rains could cool things off
Hot weather will continue through the Independence Day holiday weekend, but rain is in the forecast for Oklahoma before the weekend is finished, the National Weather Service said. Today will be partly cloudy, with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be in the upper 80s to upper 90s. Showers and thunderstorms will be likely Sunday, with partly to mostly cloudy skies and highs in the 80s to lower 90s. Thunderstorm chances fall into the slight category for Monday and Tuesday. Temperatures should range from the mid-80s to 90s during the day and 60s and 70s Sunday night, the weather service said. For Monday and Tuesday, daytime highs are expected to be only in the 80s and lower 90s and overnight lows will dip into the 60s and 70s.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Life jackets
At state lakes, life jackets are required for anyone under the age of 13 operating a personal watercraft and anyone on a boat while it is moving.
"The big thing is safety here at the lake,” said Nicole Offutt, an administrative assistant at Arcadia Lake in Edmond. "It’s one of the most serious things as far as the police department is concerned.”
Life jackets are sold at Arcadia Lake, Offutt said, but due to the sheer number of people who visit the lake, they are unable to rent them.
At Arcadia Lake, children under 13 must have life jackets on when they’re in the water. That includes wading, sitting or swimming in the lake.
McKean said the patrol often sees too few life jackets in a boat, which can lead to a citation.
Boating safety
If boaters end up in the water, don’t swim out after them, said Park Ranger
Eric Leonard of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
"It’s a good idea not to reach your hand out to them unless you have a hold of something very securely,” Leonard said. "Entering the water to assist somebody carries a certain a degree of risk. That’s the scenario that played out on Monday here” when a Shawnee man died trying to save a child’s life, Leonard said.
Instead of entering the water, he said, reach out with an oar or another long object or toss something that floats to a struggling swimmer.
Related Topics:
Transportation, Holidays, Boating Accidents, Accidents and Disasters, Fourth of July
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