Fresno County sheriff’s patrol boat sinks at Shaver Lake

A Fresno County sheriff’s patrol boat sank in its slip at the Camp Edison Dock at Shaver Lake, forcing the department to investigate the loss just as deputies were preparing for the lake’s fireworks show. Citizens noticed the boat had gone down and alerted the sheriff’s department.

The boat was part of the Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office Boating Safety Unit, which patrols Shaver Lake, Pine Flat Lake, Huntington Lake and the Kings River. The unit says it currently has eight patrol vessels and two personal watercraft available for patrol and rescue work, so the sinking removed one of the boats used to cover some of the county’s busiest waterways.

The department’s patrol boats are 21-foot aluminum vessels fitted for navigation, communication and rescue operations. The unit also checks vessel registration and life jackets, and it requires children under 13 to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while underway on boats 26 feet or less.

The timing cut into a holiday week when deputies are typically focused on boating safety and crowd control at the lake. Shaver Lake’s fireworks display is a long-running draw, and a 2026 event listing described it as the 26th annual free fireworks show, scheduled for July 1 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., launched from Honeymoon Island in the middle of the lake.

Those conditions put a premium on visible enforcement around the marina, launch areas and open water. Even with the loss of one patrol boat, the sheriff’s boating unit still has other vessels and personal watercraft to cover Shaver Lake and the rest of its lake-and-river beat as the investigation continues.