I co-chair the Yuba River Public Safety Cohort, a multi-agency roundtable that coordinates around public safety issues at the South Yuba River. As we head into the 2022 river season, we’re getting three new emergency call boxes installed at the 49 Crossing, Edwards Crossing, and on Maybert Road in the town of Washington. These call boxes use a satellite connection to provide emergency phone service where traditional land line service and cellular service are not available.
We have one emergency call box already in place at Purdon Crossing. Unfortunately, it was recently vandalized, which was so disappointing. Shortly after that call box was installed back in May 2018 (at a cost of $15,000), it helped save a life during a domestic violence incident. Its presence there is critical, given the lack of cell service in the canyon and the hazards down there ranging from river-related injuries, auto accidents, wildfire threats, and more. I hope that everyone who spends time at the river will act as stewards of our lovely Yuba and watch out for the valuable infrastructure we’ve worked so hard to put in place.
This season, we plan to bring back our free life jacket program at 49 Crossing, Hoyt’s Crossing, and Bridgeport. We also plan to distribute free river safety bandannas again (in a new color!), like as we’ve done in years passed. They include river maps, safety information and visitor etiquette in both English and Spanish, and the logos of all the agencies working hard to keep river visitors safe.
