Would-be rafters rescued from island in Kelowna’s Mission Creek

KELOWNA – Two people had to be rescued from the high, fast-flowing waters of Mission Creek in Kelowna this afternoon.

“At the best of times and weather conditions, the regional district doesn’t encourage anyone to go into Mission Creek,” regional district communications officer Bruce Smith says in a press release.

Kelowna Fire Department members had to rescue two people this afternoon, May 23, who had tried to float down the creek on a raft but ended up on an island just north of the Hollywood Road South Greenway parking lot.

Platoon Capt. Tim Light says in a press release the stranded persons lost their inflatable rafts in the creek's swift current and were wearing personal floatation devices.

"The Tech Rescue Team assisted by sending a rescue swimmer to the island and attaching a safety rope that was used during the rescue for the deployment of our Zodiac Rescue Inflatable Boat to ferry the stranded people back to shore," Light says.

Mission Creek is in the midst of the spring freshet and is near record high levels as the snowpack melts at higher elevations.

Beside fast-moving water, the creek is subject to hidden hazards and debris both on and under the surface.

The Central Okanagan Regional District is warning water levels on creeks and streams can rise unexpectedly and that river banks can be slippery or give way suddenly because of erosion.

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