Fresno County deputies boost Kings River patrols for Father’s Day crowds

Holiday crowds and warmer weather brought dozens of people to the Kings River on Sunday, and Fresno County deputies met them there with a visible patrol surge aimed at keeping a summer tradition from turning tragic. Families floated downstream, others launched boats and kayaks, and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office rode along with its boating patrol unit as the river season kicked into gear.

Deputies checked on floaters and kayakers, watched for unsafe alcohol use and repeated the basics that can decide whether a day on the water ends safely. That included wearing a life jacket, not tethering yourself to other people, using a paddle and staying out of places where people can become entangled. Officials said water levels were higher this year, raising the stakes even for experienced swimmers, and Deputy Max Simpson warned that people who had been drinking should not get into the water.

The sheriff’s office said its Boating Safety Unit is responsible for enforcing watercraft laws across Fresno County and patrols Shaver Lake, Pine Flat Lake, Huntington Lake and the Kings River by patrol vessel, vehicle and foot patrol. The same safety push included a summer life-jacket giveaway tied to local parks: the Sheriff’s Foundation for Public Safety donated $5,000 to buy 190 jackets, and North Central Fire Protection District obtained 93 more through community donations, putting 283 life jackets into circulation.

That effort came against a grim backdrop from recent years on the Kings River. A 2025 sheriff’s office release said a drowning there marked the fifth drowning in a Fresno County waterway that year, including four river drownings and one lake drowning. The victim had not been wearing a life jacket and had been drinking alcohol before entering the water.

Sheriff’s office warnings have also pointed to the river itself as a hazard when releases rise. Higher flows can bring cold-water exposure, hypothermia, exhaustion or unconsciousness, and earlier releases said changing conditions can create dangerous stretches for floaters and swimmers. In March 2023, the sheriff’s office closed the Kings River because of projected Sierra snowmelt and life-threatening water conditions, then reopened it after water levels stabilized.

By Sunday, the message was clear along the Kings River: Father’s Day may mark the start of summer, but Fresno County’s deputies are treating the season as a public-safety problem that demands both enforcement and constant reminders before the current takes over.