MISSOULA – Rescue watercraft responded to a river rescue amidst high and fast-moving water Thursday.
Crews worked through trees in the dark after a man tried to raft across the Clark Fork River area near the Reserve Street Bridge.
Fire officials said the man was attempting to return to one of the berms near Reserve Street Bridge by raft when he was swept off his raft and stuck in the submerged trees.
Rescue watercraft were deployed and the man was rescued on the island.
He’s being treated for cold water exposure.
Fire Assistant Chief of Operations Jeff Brandt said people should stay away from the fast and dangerous water.
“There’s a lot of undercutting happening in and out of the river area,” Brandt said, “and so with a lot of flow, debris coming down, it’s best just to stay away.”
This is the third reported river rescue in the past two weeks.
Earlier on Thursday, a handful of homeless people were rescued from their camp in the middle of the Clark Fork River after rising flood waters begin to cut off any chance of escape.
Reporting by Donal Lakatua for MTN News
