Raft flips in Eagle River
Vail correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado
EAGLE ” A raft flipped on some rapids Thursday morning and dumped a group of people into the Eagle River.
No one was injured, said Deputy Chief Chris Blankenship of the Greater Eagle Fire Protection District.
The raft flipped after it went through “Dead Cow,” a stretch of roller coaster-like rapids between Eagle and Wolcott, Blankenship said.
Occupants of other rafts on the trip helped everyone get out of the water before authorities arrived.
Dead Cow is typically considered Class III in difficulty on a scale of one, the easiest, through six, the most difficult.
Blankenship did not know the name of the rafting company or how many people fell into the river. A spokeswomen for the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office could not immediately comment.
Greater Eagle firefighters, whose jurisdiction is western Eagle County, have responded to almost a half-dozen reported boating accidents on the Eagle River in the last several weeks, Blankenship said. Three rafts flipped near the Eagle County Fairgrounds earlier this month and spilled 19 people into the river.
“The warm weather is definitely getting people out and about, and the water’s coming up,” Blankenship said. “So just (the) usual precautions need to be taken.”

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism
Readers around Aspen and Snowmass Village make the Aspen Times’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.
User Legend: Moderator
Trusted User
Town eyes improvements for pedestrians at Highline Road, Brush Creek
The town of Snowmass Village has its eyes on some safety improvements on Highline Road and a section of Brush Creek Road that will give pedestrians and cyclists a little more room to breathe on the side of the road.