UPDATE: Sadly, the woman involved in today’s incident passed away.
Today at 1:56 p.m. dispatch received a call reporting a woman who was floating and unresponsive in the Boise River. This happened just upstream from Kristin Armstrong Municipal Park. According to witnesses, her raft began losing air and she could not get out of the river. Bystanders were able to pull the woman out and begin CPR. Boise Police and Boise Fire arrived shortly after and took over CPR. The woman never regained consciousness and was transported to the hospital. The woman was not wearing a life jacket.
Boise Fire wants to remind everyone that the river is very cold. If a swimmer has even a small problem, it is difficult to remedy that problem because the body becomes so cold that you lose the ability to swim. It is important to always wear a life jacket on the river, stay in the middle when floating and avoid hazards to the best of your ability. For more information about the upcoming float season on the Boise river visit https://adacounty.id.gov/parksandwaterways/float-the-boise-river/.