2029 the box starts squaking again.

[Gary D.]

First off let me lay down a little foundation.

For several days we have been expecting severe weather. Over a few hours prior to the callout the weather service has been tracking some nasty thunderstorms and having constant news updates. We were expecting hail and 60 mph winds.

Add that to the most storm prone lake in our area and it is time to get off the water ASAP.

So now we have a 30’ sail boat that doesn't listen to the warnings. The storm hits and the boat blows over with all it’s occupants. To top things off they don’t know for sure where they are on the 95,000 acre lake.

For those that don’t know how big that is, IT’S BIG.

The distress call goes out and is relayed to dispatch and the page goes out. “DIVE CALLOUT LPEND OREILLE, SAILBOAT OVERTURNED 8:29PM”.

I’m in the car at 2030 and enroute. I arrive at the main boat ramp at 2047 after covering the 31.6 miles only to learn that the fireboat that we are taking has to stop for fuel, not good.

Then we learn that the call isn’t even in our county so we call that county dispatch. Someone refused to send a vessel, So my #2 who has a plethora of connections, has our dispatch call from a different angle. That got some action.

The fireboat arrives so three of us get on with our gear and head down the lake. The rest of the team is awaiting the arrival of one of our boats that is responding from the office.

While we are underway we get the accident location which is several miles up the lake and out of our county. We are running flat out when 1 of our three engines decides it has had enough and quits. Now we can’t get on a plane with just two so we putt towards the accident.

We make contact and learn that the wind just blew them over onto their side. Everyone is fine so we return to the dock as a private vessel tows them back.

Then as we are clearing this call one of our deputies was dealing with a nut case who went into the water at the opposite end of the county. He got the guy out and we didn’t have to respond.

People who boat and don’t pay attention to the weather just need to be shot at sunrise.

Gary D.

 

[SparticleBrane]

95,000 acres?
...damn.

 

[ParamedicDiver1]

I had an old commander that used to say "people are idiots." I have ammended that saying, "People are idiots - which is good job security!"

 

[Gary D.]

95,000 acres?
...damn.

Here is a mape with a lot of points listed. We cover the very south end of the lake. We came out of Scenic Bay at Bayview and the call was on the east side a Whisky Rock.

http://sandpoint.web.infoseek.co.jp/pendoreille/lakependoreille_map2.html

Here is a sat pic.

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=17&Z=11&X=21&Y=207&W=1

Here is a view of our county. That little body of water at the upper right corner (North East corner) is our section of that big lake.

http://www.co.kootenai.id.us/departments/mapping/

Gary D.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

95,000 acres?
...damn.

148 square miles.
...damn -- my piece of the Pacific Ocean isn't that big. ;-)

 

[Greg D.]

big and DEEEEP