Four fisherman were rescued from an island near the Nimbus Dam along the American River after water was released from the dam's flood gate.
One of the fisherman, Justin Lewis, said he stayed on the island despite warning sirens because he felt the water was not rising or moving at a dangerous level.
When emergency crews were alerted, they initiated rescue crews to bring the four fisherman to shore, according to spokesperson Michelle Eidman with the Sacramento Metro Fire Department.
"It was just that they were stranded, they weren't going to get back [safely]," Eidam said.
Luis Moore is a spokesperson with Federal Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water at the Nimbus Dam and in the western United States.
The dam gates were scheduled to increase release from 3,500 cubic feet per second to 6,000 cubic feet per second to free up space in the reservoir, Moore said.
Recent snow-melt from the Sierra Nevada mountains has increased water flow into the American River and is filling up water reservoirs.
"Because of the time of the year we need to maintain safe space in the reservoir," Moore said. "So, one of the things we do is increase our releases to bring back down the balance of water storage."
Over the next week the release will increase from 6,000 cubic feet of water per second to 15,000 cubic feet of water per second to free up space in the reservoir.
Emergency personnel warn all to be aware of rising river levels over the next week.