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Swimmers have been keeping the lifeguards very busy.

Report: Water related incidents above average

On April 14, Gulf Shores lifeguards reported 26 drowning calls in one month

Graphic courtesy of the city of Orange Beach

GULF SHORES, Ala. — While only two months of vacationers have visited the Gulf Coast, a high number of water-related incidents have already been reported.

On April 14, Gulf Shores lifeguards had recorded 26 drowning calls in one month, and senior lifeguard Scott Smothers said that’s above average.

He also said since the season opened on March 13 there have been three days with yellow flags flying, the rest being red flag days.

“It’s because of the storms we’ve had,” Smothers said of the red flags. “Any time you get a low pressure system you’re going to have rip currents and high surf.”

Last year Gulf Shores had 172 drowning rescues. Drowning is easily avoidable and following the warning signs can eliminate the danger posed by the water.

The flag system put in place by the city allows beachgoers to be aware of the water conditions. Obeying the system ensures a safe trip.

A green flag represents low hazard and declares conditions are calm. A yellow flag expresses medium hazard and is used when the Gulf has moderate surf and currents. A red flag warns of high surf and strong currents. Two red flags declares the water is closed to the public. When dangerous marine life like sharks or jellyfish are present, a purple flag will fly. Other dangerous marine life include barracudas, red tide and marine lice. 

By city ordinance in Gulf Shores, it is illegal to enter the water when one or two red flags are flying.

A representative at the Gulf Shores Police Department did say usually they issue a warning to a swimmer on a red flag day, but failure to cooperate will lead to an arrest.

Orange Beach also fly flags to inform swimmers of water conditions. The city does not employ a lifeguard force, rather, the police and fire departments and the marine police are dispatched for a drowning. The Gulf Shores lifeguards will also lend a hand to Orange Beach and the Orange Beach Marine Police assist the lifeguards in Gulf Shores.

Orange Beach aquatics coordinator Melvin Shepard described the help as mutual aid. He also said Orange Beach has seen a lot of swimming distress calls recently.

Smothers said every rescue that’s been made in Gulf Shores has been a vacationer and said they have been for multiple victims.

“You’ll have one person in trouble and then two others go try to help them,” he said.

Smothers said the best thing to do if you witness a drowning is alert a lifeguard. If a lifeguard isn’t nearby carry a flotation device to the victim. Most rescues occur in the afternoon during low tide when there is a tidal range of two feet. Another large contributor is rip currents, which are caused when the tide funnels in water and it finds a weak spot in a sandbar to break through.

“All the water that comes in has to find a place to go out,” Smothers said. “It will gather, break the sandbar and rush back out to sea.”

To avoid rip currents, look for an area at the shoreline that is murky — where the sand has been disturbed. If caught in a rip current, allow it to carry you out, swim parallel to the beach and then swim back to shore.

A few other rules to follow include swimming with a partner and never swim while under the influence of alcohol.

To check the surf conditions and flying flag for Gulf Shores call 251-968-TIDE. The Orange Beach information line for weather and surf conditions and the flying flag is 251-981-SURF. Information about the flag system and beach safety tips can be found at the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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Danger looms in abandoned mines, so stay away

Bill Wilson

Wed, Apr 15, 2009 (4:54 p.m.)

Spring has sprung, and with it people are coming out of their winter lairs and into the great outdoors. Nicer weather means more hikers, campers, and mountain bikers. The mountains that surround our fair hamlet are a big draw for thousands of people from all over the world. Unfortunately these same mountains are peppered with abandon or inactive mines. Though exploring an old mine may be tempting for some, ignoring the potential danger it brings can be disastrous. The following are hazards that can be found in the abandon mines around Boulder City.

Shafts — The collar or top of a mine shaft is especially dangerous. The fall down a deep shaft is just as lethal as the fall from a tall building — with the added disadvantage of bouncing from wall to wall in a shaft and the likelihood of having falling rocks and timbers for company. Even if a person survived such a fall, it may be impossible to climb back out. The rock at the surface is often decomposed. Timbers may be rotten or missing. It is dangerous to walk anywhere near a shaft opening; the whole area is often ready and waiting to slide into the shaft, along with the curious. A shaft sunk inside a tunnel is called a winze. In many old mines, winzes have been boarded over. If these boards have decayed, a perfect trap is waiting.

Water — Many tunnels have standing pools of water which could conceal holes in the floor. Pools of water also are common at the bottom of shafts. It is usually impossible to estimate the depth of the water, and a false step could lead to drowning.

Ladders — Ladders in most abandoned mines are unsafe. Ladder rungs are missing or broken. Some will fail under the weight of a child because of dry rot. Vertical ladders are particularly dangerous.

Timbers — The timber in abandoned mines can be weak from decay. Other timber, although apparently in good condition, may become loose and fall at the slightest touch. A well-timbered mine opening can look very solid when in fact the timber can barely support its own weight. There is the constant danger of inadvertently touching a timber and causing the tunnel to collapse.

Cave-ins — Cave-ins are an obvious danger. Areas that are likely to cave often are hard to detect. Minor disturbances, such as vibrations caused by walking or speaking, may cause a cave-in. if a person is caught, he can be crushed to death. A less cheerful possibility is to be trapped behind a cave-in without anyone knowing you are there. Death may come through starvation, thirst, or gradual suffocation.

Bad air — “Bad air” contains poisonous gases or insufficient oxygen. Poisonous gases can accumulate in low areas or along the floor. A person may enter such areas breathing the good air above the gases but the motion caused by walking will mix the gases with the good air, producing a possibly lethal mixture for him to breathe on the return trip. Because little effort is required to go down a ladder, the effects of “bad air” may not be noticed, but when climbing out of the shaft, a person requires more oxygen and breathes more deeply. The result is dizziness, followed by unconsciousness. If the gas doesn’t kill, the fall will.

Explosives — Many abandoned mines contain old explosives left by previous workers. This is extremely dangerous. Explosives should never be handled by anyone not thoroughly familiar with them. Even experienced miners hesitate to handle old explosives. Old dynamite sticks and caps can explode if stepped on or just touched.

Rattlesnakes — Old mine tunnels and shafts are among their favorite haunts — to cool off in summer, or to search for rodents and other small animals. Any hole or ledge, especially near the mouth of the tunnel or shaft, can conceal a snake.

Finally, please remember there is only one safe way to deal with abandoned mines- STAY OUT! For further information contact the Boulder City Fire Department 293-9228.

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Double drownings put spotlight on riptides, flags

Both incidents occurred while lifeguards were off-duty and flags were down

April 14, 2009 – 5:15 PM

By Jennifer Rich and Wendy Victora

Rip currents claimed two more lives on Destin beaches over the weekend, once again drawing much needed attention to this fatal force of nature.

“I’ve been here for five years now and we’ve rescued over 500 people on the beach in Destin,” said Joe D’Agostino, chief of Destin Beach Safety Patrol. “Only two instances (in the past) were non-rip current related.”

Late Friday afternoon, Joseph Jones, a 39-year-old from Riverdale, Ga., was pronounced dead at the hospital after entering the Gulf around 5 p.m. to help two young girls that were caught in a rip current. He became Destin’s first drowning victim in two years.

The next day, Airman 1st Class Josh Roussell, who was with the 46th Test Wing on Eglin Air Force Base, died shortly after 6 p.m. after he was pulled out in a rip current while playing football in waist-deep water with his brother-in-law.

Both incidents occurred respectively at Hutchinson Street and Pompano Street public access points in red flag conditions shortly after lifeguards were off duty for the day.

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Funerals set for drowning victims, click here,

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Red flags were flying during both days, but they were taken down by lifeguards at the end of their shifts. That’s standard procedure, according to Destin Fire Control District personnel. In Walton County, however, lifeguards keep flags flying in off-duty hours, even though that is something they “are always evaluating,” said Marc Anderson, assistant chief at the fire department.

“The flags are a minor tool, but there are still plenty of people that don’t pay attention to them,” D’Agostino said. “When flags come down that’s an indicator that lifeguards are no longer on duty. And you are 100 percent swimming at your own risk.”

He said that folks who think flags should fly 24 hours a day are incorrect, since the principal use of the flags is to keep beachgoers appraised of current conditions.

“When we left the beach on Friday and Saturday we told every person red flags are flying,” he said. “We told every person we were leaving the beach.”

“No one has a store that’s open 24 hours a day and you take the candy and leave the money on the counter,” he said. “A business is open when a business is open.”

And, he added, beaches are open for safe swimming only when a lifeguard is on duty.

“Flags don’t save people,” he added. “The only thing that’s ever prevented people from drowning are lifeguards.”

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To read The Log’s take on the flag issue, click here.

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Beach-goers often underestimate the actual danger of a rip current, or mistake it for an undertow, which D’Agostino said is not the culprit locally.

“Undertow is a misnomer,” D’Agostino said. “People believe there is something out there that pulls you under, but there is nothing here in these rips that pull you under.“

Rip currents pull their victims horizontally away from the shoreline and swimmers can meet their demise when they get fatigued, lose their buoyancy or lack swimming skills.

D’Agostino further said that the United States Lifesaving Association reports that 80 percent of all rescues are rip current related on open water beaches.

The National Weather Service has issued guidelines for what to do if caught in a rip current. In short, remain calm to conserve energy and swim out of the current in the direction following the shoreline. If the current is too strong, float or calmly tread water until out of the current.

D’Agostino urges beachgoers to call 911 if someone is in distress, adding that the victim — like Jones — may become the one who is trying to save others.

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Destin drowning victims identified – UPDATED

April 13, 2009 – 8:11 AM

Wendy Victora

Daily News

DESTIN – Two people who drowned off of Destin beaches this weekend were identified Monday.

The first victim was identified by friends as Joseph Jones, a 39-year-old from Riverdale, Ga.

He died late Friday afternoon after going in to help two girls caught in a rip current. They made it out safely, but Jones was pulled out by beachgoers and taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

On Saturday, Airman 1st Class Josh Roussell, who was with the 46th Test Wing on Eglin Air Force Base, died after he was pulled out in a rip current while playing football in waist-deep water with his brother-in-law, according to a base spokesperson.

His brother-in-law was able to get out of the water, but Roussell was pulled out by off-duty lifeguards. He was also taken to the hospital but could not be revived.

“We are deeply saddened by the untimely death of A1C Josh Roussell,” said Col. Jeff Murray, vice commander, 46th Test Wing. “Our thoughts and condolences are with his family.”

Both drownings occurred after lifeguards had left the beach for the day.

Red flags were flying during the day on Friday and Saturday, but they were taken down by lifeguards at the end of their shifts. That’s standard procedure, according to Destin Fire Control District personnel.

Destin Fire Control District Beach Safety Division Chief Joe D’Agostino said the surf was rough on Friday but calmer on Saturday. Rip currents are a common condition in local waters, and they are not always obvious to inexperienced swimmers.

“You get a lot of rip currents without big surf,” D’Agostino said of Panhandle beaches. “Our waves are really, really small. It’s our rip currents – they’re huge, they’re very well-defined.”

Friends of Jones are calling him a hero for trying to save the young girls. His own family was on the beach with him when he went into the water to try to help.

“He was a good guy,” said Jeff Carroll, who lives in south Florida but went to high school with Jones. “That’s so sad. You almost, when you hear something like that, you want it to be reversible.”

He added that he was praying for Jones’ family.

D’Agostino said too many times would-be rescuers become the victims. It’s better to call 911, he said.

“I wouldn’t tell anybody to go in there after somebody if they don’t have experience and they don’t know how to effect a rescue,” he said.

“The problem is most people don’t swim as well as they think they can,” he added.

He added that many rely on being able to stand on the bottom, but when they lose their footing, they are in trouble.

Carroll, who moved to Florida from New Jersey, said he was caught in a rip current two years ago and it was the “scariest feeling” in his life. He and Jones attended high school together in Teaneck, N.J.

“Riptides are so dangerous,” Carroll said, comparing them to the black ice of his childhood.

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3 drown off Panhandle beaches over weekend

DESTIN, Fla. – Authorities say two swimmers and a kayaker drowned off Panhandle beaches over the Easter weekend.

The Destin Fire Control District says 39-year-old Joseph Jones from Riverdale, Ga., died Friday after going into the water off Destin to help others caught in a rip current. The others survived.

An unidentified airman stationed at Eglin Air Force Base drowned later Friday after being caught in a rip current also off Destin while tossing a football back and forth in waist-deep water with his brother-in-law.

Authorities say red flags warning beach goers to stay out of the water because of the rip currents flew throughout the weekend.

Fourteen-year-old Trevor Mills of Panama City Beach died Sunday night following a kayaking accident in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Tragedy in Florida.

Swimmer drowns at Lake Worth Beach after being pulled under by rip current

April 13, 2009 – 7:07 PM

A 15-year old tried to save the drowning man but had to make the difficult decision to let him go.

The medical examiner finished taking the body of that teen swimmer away from Lake Worth Beach. The swimmer struggled to stay alive, but ultimately, he just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

David Fanuelsen tried to save the distressed swimmer, but he was too late.

‘It was just instant tears. There was just nothing that could be done,” said Fanuelson after jumping in the water along Lake Worth Beach in search of swimmer who reportedly drowned.

He and others searching the coast found the body– lifeless.

“I thought it was a baby… or someones kid. I mean it doesn’t matter who it is, I was just trying to help, you know?”

It happened at around 6:45 in the afternoon.

According to investigators, the unidentified swimmer appeared to have cramped up in the rough surf while swimming by himself. At first a good samaritan jumped in to help, but he too got cramped up and went back to shore.

PBSO’s chopper and dive crews showed up shortly there after, until the worst case scenario was confirmed.

“There’s a rip current that shoots right out, and he was right at the end of the rip current. Right in the cloudy part where you couldn’t see,” said Fanuelson.

For beachgoers and nearbty residents alike, tonights’ tragedy is a reminder: Be careful when swimming in choppy waters.

“I’m not surfing so I really don’t have a need to go out that far in the ocean, but it seems kind of gentle. I guess you have to respect the power of the ocean man. That’s basically what it comes down to I think,” said witness Sean Nichols.

There were no lifeguards on duty at the time of the drowning.

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Rip Currents are a constant threat where ever there are large bodies of water.

Two taken to hospital after near drownings

April 11, 2009 – 7:47 PM

Dusty Ricketts

DESTIN – Local lifeguards had a relatively calm day Saturday compared to Friday, but two men who went swimming in the gulf off Crystal Beach after the lifeguards went off duty had to be rescued.

One man was exhausted but breathing on his own. Rescuers had to perform CPR on the second man.

“It’s such an unfortunate, unfortunate situation,” said Joe D’Agostino, Destin’s beach safety chief. “It demonstrates how effective our presence is. It’s sad to be reminded of that in such a tragic way.”

Both men were taken to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast in Santa Rosa Beach. Their names were not been released and their conditions were unavailable Saturday night.

During the day Saturday, a handful of swimmers had to be pulled from rip currents as people swarmed local beaches. Still, conditions were a lot safer than Friday.

Beach safety crews in Walton County had one rescue call Saturday while the Okaloosa Island life-guards pulled three swimmers from the water behind The Boardwalk.

“Overall, it looks like it was a good day,” said Gary Wise, head of Walton County’s beach safety patrol.

The only rescues for the Destin Beach Safety Patrol were the two men after the lifeguards had went off-duty.

Rip currents were much stronger Friday, when 10 people were pulled from the gulf.

Rip currents are expected to be fairly strong again today, and beach safety personnel urge swimmers to use extreme caution before entering the water.

“I wish we would be out there longer throughout the season more, but we can only do so much with what we’ve got,” D’Agostino said.

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While I agree with the premise of this essay – I think the books and websites about bear attacks are due to the fact that they are intriguing even if rare. Nobody thinks that bears are hunting us humans down. But the potential, however small, does exist.

Truth and lies about bear attacks in the U.S.

It doesn’t take bear spray and jingle bells – avoiding bear attacks is easier than most think

Lenore Perconti

THE DAILY EVERGREEN

Published: 04/03/2009

We stuff ‘em, cuddle with them, associate them with Theodore Roosevelt and Valentine’s, and say “awww” when we see them at the zoo. The first thing out of most people’s mouths when I tell them that I camp and do multi-day rafting trips in the wilderness for my summer job is, “what about bears?” Most people are concerned about bear attacks when it comes to the outdoors, but is this fear justified?

We, as Americans, are obsessed with bear attacks. There are fliers, Web sites and even entire books written on the subject of deadly bear attacks and how to avoid them. Specific weapons such as bear spray and deterrents, like the bear whistle, have been made to protect people against this horrible creature. All this information, products and media attention just adds fuel to the fire, inflating our fear of bears.

I remember hiking through Glacier National Park as kid on high-traffic trails with my family. My parents made sure to purchase the well-marketed “bear bells.” Both my brother and I were suited up like reindeer with these bells, all for the prevention of bear attacks.

Here are the facts about bear attacks. According to Stephen Colbert, bears are the No. 1 threat to Americans. However, on average, there are only three deaths per year in North America from bear attacks according to the WSU Bear Center Web site. You are more likely to be killed falling down stairs, getting stung by a bee, getting attacked by a dog or drowning in your bathtub.

The North American Bear Center explains perfectly that bear “attacks are rare and excessive warnings about them create unnecessary fear.” Obsession with getting mauled by a bear has been inflated not by false information, but by the irrational proportion of fear-driven articles compared to those who are more realistic about the subject. Because of liability matters, national parks and outdoor centers are required to publish information explaining that bear attacks are possible and how to prevent and survive an attack. Authors and media venues then emphasize this information for the scare factor. And as always, when a fatal or close call bear attack does occur, the media makes a big deal out of it because it sells big with audiences.

For the most part, bears try to avoid humans. Bears do not recognize humans as a potential item on their dinner menu, just like we don’t look at a hamster and think “yum.” Bear Researchers in Yellowstone National Park have done studies on how bears react to human presence. When a researcher approached an area with a bear that is radio-tagged, 90 percent of the time, the bear would evacuate the area. The other 10 percent of the time, the bear would stand and make aggressive noises toward the researcher. Some would even bluff a charge, but all bears would eventually turn and leave.

All maulings and attacks on humans have come from startling a bear, or when oblivious hikers come between cubs and their mother. Bears will attack when they feel threatened. Keys to avoiding these attacks are to be aware of your surrounding area. Before hiking, check in with a forest ranger. The Forest Service keeps track of bears and will tell you if a bear has been spotted in any area of the forest. Also, keep your food and garbage locked up or put away. Bears who come into camp or follow hikers have been conditioned by others who have left their food out or have dropped food on the ground while hiking.

All national parks and wildernesses that serve as homes to bears will have detailed information on what to do if you encounter one. I suggest reading this before doing any hiking or outdoor activity. Bears should be respected as potentially dangerous creatures, but an understanding of their behavior and the limitation of human-bear interactions will make the outdoors more enjoyable for everyone.