Early bird Memorial Day weekend traffic barely slowed as it passed the small group of media and Kern County Sheriff’s Office personnel gathered under two sad and cautionary signs at the mouth of the Kern River canyon.

The group gathers every year at the start of this weekend, the unofficial kickoff to summer, to change the numbers on the signs, one in English the other in Spanish.

This year, the numbers went from 334 to 342 since 1968. Another eight souls were taken by the Kern River in 2024.

“Over the last five years, we’ve been averaging about seven deaths a year,” said Sgt. Rodney Jones, in charge of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue division. “If you look at the numbers over 10 years, the average was about six a year. So, we’re getting worse.”

The worst year on record was 2017 when 16 people drowned.

Those numbers don’t include people who’ve died in the upper Kern River, in Tulare County, which doesn’t keep drowning stats on its section of river, according to Capt. Kevin Kimmerling.

And none of the tallies include people who are still missing and presumed dead in the river.

“We tell the public this every year, the Kern River is dangerous,” Jones said. “Do not go in it without professional guides or gear.”

The water is cold and deceptively fast with numerous hidden hazards – branches, rocks, debris – that can snag you, trap you and pull you under, he added.

How to Avoid Drowning

The advice was the same this year as last year and years into the past:

• Watch children closely. Never let them into the river unattended.
• Do not go in the river if you can’t swim.
• Use adequate flotation devices, not drug store floaties.
• Make sure someone in your party can get through to 911. Service in the canyon is sketchy so plan ahead.
• Alcohol (or other mind altering substances) does not mix well with the Kern River.

“The Kern River is very, very dangerous,” Jones repeated.

Less snowfall this year means the river will be running lower than in recent past years. On Friday the river below the Isabella Dam was running at 1,131 cubic feet per second, according to the Army Corps of Engineers’ hourly flow report. Above the lake it was 2,560 cfs.

Even though it’s lower, Jones said, most people would not be able to climb out if they were trapped on a rock with 1,100 cfs pushing against them.

Related Story: Body of Kern River Kayaker Recovered After 43 days in Water

Loaner Life Jackets

Though other areas near dangerous water have created loaner life jacket kiosks, Kern County doesn’t have such a program. There’s too much potential liability, said Lori Meza, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.

Loaner programs can also be difficult to maintain as jackets rated for whitewater are pricey, about $300 each, said Gary Ananian, founder of Kern River Conservancy, a Kern River Valley nonprofit that conducts river clean ups and informational programs.

Instead of trying to keep up a kiosk, Boat California periodically donates appropriate, new life vests to the conservancy when then gives them out to campers.

Ananian said he received a fresh batch of about 50, which his organization will be handing out this weekend.

Sheriff’s patrols will be making the rounds as well, with extra Search and Rescue teams staged in several areas. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Department will also have extra patrols this weekend, Kimmerling said.

The Kern Sheriff’s Office is asked just about every year if it will “close” the river as Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreax has done in the past on its portion of the Kern.

“No,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said, flatly. “The river is a public place and there’s way too many access points for us to patrol.

“You can’t legislate stupidity. If you need to be told to stay out of that river, there’s something wrong with you.”

About the Author

SJV Water CEO and editor Lois Henry has spent 30 years covering the San Joaquin Valley.

About SJV Water

SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Email us at sjvwater@sjvwater.org.