In Monday rescue, fast flow and log jam stranded tubers on Davidson River

“This is not the time to do it,” rescue-squad deputy chief David Orr told the Hendersonville Times-News after several people tubing on the Davidson River were caught in rapid flows and debris. According to the Times-News, the river was flowing eight times faster than normal. One woman was caught in a log jam near Sycamore Flats:

None of the victims sustained serious injuries or was hospitalized, but Transylvania County Rescue Squad and U.S. Forest Service officials used the incident as an opportunity to warn visitors about the dangers of river recreation during times of high flows.

“They may not look like they’re flowing rapidly, but they are, and drowning can happen very quickly,” Forest Service spokesman Stevin Westcott said. “We just encourage people to think twice about going out into the rivers and streams right now because things are a bit treacherous out there.”

The Davidson was cooking at 558 cubic feet per second — more than eight times its normal flow – when Transylvania County dispatchers received a 911 call …

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About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

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