SEATTLE – After a 15-year-old girl drowned in the Snoqualmie River near North Bend and two 19-year-old women were rescued about two hours later, the King County sheriff has decided to close a fast-flowing section of the river’s Middle Fork to recreational activity.
“This section of the Snoqualmie is cold and the waters are high due to the unusual snow pack during the winter,” Sheriff Sue Rahr said Wednesday in a statement. “That makes the river fast and exceedingly dangerous.”
The river claimed the life of Tess Sollitto on Monday.
Sollitto got swept away after plunging into the river with a group of friends. Divers found her after she’d been underwater 30 to 40 minutes.
In addition the speed of the water, the river near North Bend is dangerous because of several trees in the water, which are called “strainers” because the rushing water flows in and under the branches and trunk.
Unsuspecting swimmers or floaters can be pulled in and under trees by the strong water flow, trapping and drowning them.
The Middle Fork – from the Blue Hole swimming area to the Mason-Thorson Extension – was closed to swimming, floating and boating, effective Wednesday. Deputies posted “River Closed” signs.
It’s the first time Rahr has used her authority to close part of a river in the interest of safety. Last November, Rahr won her first elected term in office.
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