BOW VALLEY – Drownings across the province are on the rise and officials believe increased visitation to Alberta waterways due to COVID-19 could be to blame.
Since June there have been 15 presumed and confirmed drowning cases across Alberta, nearly double the number of cases compared to the same time period last year.
“At this time last year we were at nine drownings,” said Kelly Carter, chief executive officer of the Lifesaving Society’s Alberta and Northwest Territories chapter.
“We believe one factor for the increase we have seen has been a result of the ongoing global pandemic. With the closures of recreation centres and indoor swimming options, it has pushed people to look for outdoor swimming options where there are naturally more hazards, and are unsupervised.”
In total, 14 people have been recovered while one in the North Saskatchewan River near Lake Louise has not been located.
After a nine-day search effort, carried out by multiple search and rescue agencies, 16-year-old Blessing Paul, from Calgary, was located underwater on Monday (Aug. 17), after being swept under the surface of the Bow River, downstream of the Seebe Dam.
On Sunday (Aug. 16), a 34-year-old Calgary woman drowned at Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park near the Alberta-B.C. border. The drowning brings the total to three in the Bow Valley area.
With a recent rise in temperatures, officials say people are inherently more likely to seek out water, but don’t believe the weather to be a factor in the increase in water-related incidents. They believe the increase is linked to COVID-19 and unprepared recreationists.
“We’re seeing more people coming to the parks, and with more users, it is obviously going to lead to more rescues,” said Mike Koppang, a public safety specialist for Kananaskis Country.
Kananaskis Public Safety has responded to about 15 rescues related to water throughout the course of the summer season. Three of the rescues have been on lakes or still water and the rest were in rivers. Koppang said in a typical summer season that number will vary between seven to 20 water-related rescues.
“Some years there is a problem log jam that can catch a lot of people and the next year that log jam isn’t there and we don’t have many incidents," he said.
Of the 13 river rescues this season, Koppang said many of the cases could have had a worse outcome.
“Most of them have been fairly severe … they have been very close calls and they could have very easily been fatalities. We’ve been fortunate that people have been lucky it wasn't any worse.”
Canmore Fire-Rescue Fire Chief Walter Gahler noted there has been an uptick in river rescues this year. This summer, in Canmore there have been five river rescues, including a pair of notable rescues earlier this month.
On Aug. 10, Canmore Fire-Rescue responded to a water rescue near the Canmore Engine Bridge after two men visiting from Toronto jumped off.
"The two men were hiking during the day when they decided to jump off the Engine Bridge," Gahler said, adding that one of the men had inhaled water and did not do well with the cold water. The other friend had noticed and pulled his struggling friend to the rocks under the bridge, prompting a call to 911.
Another rescue near Canmore resulted in Canmore Fire-Rescue firefighter Steve Westlake, who was off-duty on Aug. 2. While floating down the Bow River with family, Westlake jumped to action and rescued a man who had fallen out of a nearby raft.
“People have to understand the mountain rivers are not like a float down a river in the middle of the province,"Koppang said. "They are quite cold and quite fast and it is not uncommon to get large log jams. In particular from the national park border to Seebe, the river is quite braided and there are many channels that change regularly.”
Koppang said the problem with log jams is that they move and change multiple times throughout the course of a season.
“If you are unsure about a section of the river, get out and scout. Park your boat on the bank and take a look so that if there is a jam you can portage safely around,” Koppang said.
Kanasaskis Public Safety does not actively manage log jams.
“You need to have a high level of experience to be able to paddle these rivers and they’re not the kind of river you go with a float toy,” Koppang said.
- With files from Jenna Dulewich
