Fresno County Sheriff to give away nearly 300 life jackets
Fresno County sheriff's officials will hand out 283 free life jackets at four parks as summer drowning risks rise across rivers and lakes.
Fresno County sheriff’s officials are putting 283 free life jackets into the hands of families before the county’s busiest water season hits full stride. The giveaway is meant to blunt a danger that returns every summer to rivers, lakes and other natural waterways across Fresno County and the Sierra foothills.
The distribution will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 20, at Skaggs Bridge Park, Lost Lake Park, Avocado Lake Park and Laton-Kingston Park. Jackets will be handed out simultaneously at all four sites on a first-come, first-served basis, and people must be present to receive one. Sheriff John Zanoni said the goal is to make life jackets as routine as buckling a seat belt.
That warning carries urgency in a region where water hazards can turn deadly fast. The California Water Safety Coalition says 48% of drowning deaths happen in June, July and August, and state data also points to most drownings occurring between May and August. The coalition says California sees about 400 drowning deaths a year, along with roughly 400 hospitalizations and more than 1,000 emergency department visits.
The youngest children remain among the most vulnerable. A 2024 California drowning-prevention proclamation said drowning is a leading cause of injury-related deaths among children ages 4 and under, averaging more than 51 deaths per year. Valley Children’s Hospital staff have said drowning can happen quickly, especially for babies and toddlers, and have urged parents to let children get used to wearing life jackets before they are near the water. ABC30 reported that experts also recommend spraying a life jacket with water so children become familiar with the feel.
The sheriff’s office has paired the giveaway with a familiar warning from local responders: natural bodies of water are not the same as pools. Water can be colder, deeper and more unpredictable than it looks from shore. That caution comes just days after Fresno County officials said a toddler nearly drowned at Millerton Lake over the weekend of June 7 and 8 and was pulled from the water by family before Fresno County Fire responded. A separate rescue at Kaweah Lake in Tulare County on Thursday, June 12, ended with a 9-year-old girl airlifted to a hospital after deputies were called just after 3:30 p.m.
Fresno County held a similar giveaway at the same four parks last year, when the Sheriff’s Public Safety Foundation distributed about 160 free life jackets. This year’s larger supply reflects a harder push to prevent the next tragedy before families head to the water.
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