CARMICHAEL, Calif. — The triple digit heat is forcing people to find a place to stay cool this holiday weekend. For some that might be the Lower American River, but one kayaker is warning people about a nearby risk.
Diver Karl Bly usually is all about finding things deemed lost forever. Now his focus is on bringing attention to a risk near the American River.
"It really is a danger," said Bly, creator of American River Lost and Found Facebook page. "Right now, it's at the wrong level where you can get stuck in this thing."
The thing he is describing is a pipe going across a channel near the William B. Pond Recreation area in Carmichael, which eventually feeds into the Lower American River.
"The thousands and thousands of people that come on the river, they are not going to see this pipe, it'll be fine,” said Bly. “It’s for the people who really ventured through the ponds. They are the ones who might stumble across it. Hopefully we can avoid an accident there."
Bly says the pipe has been abandoned for at least a decade and likely belonged to an energy company.
The pipe has always been a bit of a hazard, but with higher water levels making it harder to see, Bly wants to warn people to keep an eye out.
Others who frequent the area are encouraging people to keep an extra eye out.
"It definitely can be pretty dangerous," said Justin, who frequents the area often.
Stephen Knox has known about this pipe over the years and adds, it is best to walk over it.
"As all rivers are if you're not aware of what you're doing you can get in trouble," said Stephen Knox. "If you go underneath [the pipe] with your feet, you're stuck and you are dead."
"The river is a great place to be to beat the heat,” said Bly. “It is a perfectly safe place to be with common sense."
