Sad days at the lake | Napa Valley Register

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Sad days at the lake

Drowning tragedy strikes three times at Berryessa

Sunday, September 13, 2009

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Lake Berryessa coverage

October 5th, 2009

Berryessa Highlands residents agree to water rate increase

September 18th, 2009

Oak Shores to reopen for swimming

September 17th, 2009

Berryessa swimming area reopens this weekend

September 13th, 2009

Sad days at the lake

September 12th, 2009

Sixth person dead from drowning at lake this year

In an incredible run of tragedy at Lake Berryessa, three people have drowned while swimming in the lake in the last week.

The tragedies are deeply personal to the families and friends of the victims, and seem even deeper to the community at large because the deaths come during a particularly trying chapter in the history of the lake.

Many of the seven lakeside resorts are closed this summer while in the twilight period between the exhaustion of old resort contracts and the awarding of news ones by the Bureau of Reclamation, which controls the lakeshore. Business and visitors are down at the lake.

As it happens, on Thursday the Register editorial board met with Bureau of Reclamation official Pete Lucero and two of the bureau’s strongest critics — Hank Howard and Steve Reynolds of the group Berryessa for All. The conversation was wide-ranging, and we will detail much of it in Monday’s edition. But the meeting touched on public safety, which for the saddest possible reasons is the issue of the day at the lake.

Reynolds raised concerns about adequate safety at the lake, which is patrolled on shore and on land by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office has made a strong show of force on big holiday weekends in recent years, and on Memorial Day weekend and other holidays has closed off areas where there is a history of problems.

Lucero said the bureau recognizes the dangers of the lake, and has a program in place to give life vests away to visitors on the weekends. He also pointed out that the recent deaths at the lake “could have been avoided.” For example, he said, people mistakenly try to swim from the shore to Big Island, which is farther than it seems. Often, he said, teens at the lake lack supervision.

We would add that too many of the deaths and injuries at the lake over the years have been fueled by alcohol, including the 2007 incident when a 13-year-old girl died from a mixture of excessive drinking and — when she slipped into the water — exposure to the fumes from boat engines.

In the wake of the death of Shannon Johnson on Thursday, the bureau issued a notice that swimming at Oak Shores is temporarily banned. People on boats or kayaks may still get in the water, but the bureau is concerned about hazards near shore caused by low lake levels.

The bureau is trying to get a read on the hazards, is posting warning signs at the lake and is considering whether to expand the life vest program. Yet it all comes back to common sense. As with anything else, safety starts with our own conduct. When visiting Lake Berryessa, look out for yourselves, look out for your children and keep the risky behavior to a minimum. No one wants to witness or read about another tragedy.

5 comment(s)

glenroy wrote on Sep 13, 2009 8:57 AM:

" Ban swimming?

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise the BOR ruined this lake..... "

sdnapa wrote on Sep 13, 2009 4:57 PM:

" seems like the BOR is using every reason to close the lake down. banning swimming because people that cannot swim are choosing to take risks? it just seems ridiculous to me.

i wonder if the BOR realizes that they are bankrupting an entire community of people that live at lake berryessa.

i wonder if they even care. "

sharonden wrote on Sep 13, 2009 6:18 PM:

" This is a public lake, with three recent unfortunate incidents. BOR/Lucero repertoire - no parking, tow away zone, no trailers, no motorized boating, no trespassing, closed - now no swimming. Maybe BOR needs to learn to partner with the resources, the community and the public - rather than thinking they need to "control" public lands and water - they have jobs to serve the public, that includes public recreation. "

lberryessa wrote on Sep 13, 2009 8:04 PM:

" Wow, maybe if they hadn’t banded power boats in this area (big island lagoon) these tragedies might have been avoided. Now that swimmers feel safe that they have no worry of power boats in this area they are free to swim without fear of being unseen. So the solution that the BOR has proposed is to have “no swimming in this area” What a surprise. They have closed the bridge on holiday weekends, and now no swimming at the big island lagoon. How about closing the lake? This way, everybody would be safe. Maybe they should close Hi 128/121 or Steele canyon road or 880 or 101 or 580 or 680. They have taken far more lives than Berryessa.. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family. It is really sad that the(BOR) government doesn't stop attempting to control everybody else’s destiny. "

Funnythewayitis wrote on Sep 15, 2009 7:05 PM:

" First of all I would like to extend my condolences to the families of the victims. What has taken place is truly tragic. I have lost a family member to the roads at the lake so I understand how sensitive of an issue this is.

However, I will say that everyday we make decisions and are responsible for them. I do not think it is a reasonable solution to ban swimming at the lake. There are countless people that frequent the lake on a regular basis that are aware of what water safety is and abide by the rules of the water. Society is placing a false confidence that banning something will cease or prevent these tragic events from occurring. It is illegal to drink and drive and lets just flip to the August DUI list.

Our family lends out life jackets to swimmers and wear them ourselves. Yet again the responsible will be punished by this ban to swim. I would like to see the percentage of deaths that are caused by the over consumption of alcohol and drownings at Oak Shores Vs other areas of the lake. I agree that people should not be able to jump of the bridge...but swimming is excessive. What will be next? You know people drink at wineries and then get into accidents but the wineries are still open for business? Being cynical is not my intention but this is ridiculous! What's next Napa... dancing? This all too reminiscent of Footloose! "

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