COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — A man was rescued Sunday evening from Big Cottonwood Creek after being swept away by the fast-moving water.
Unified Fire Authority was called to the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon around 5 p.m., where the man was stranded on a rock. UFA public information officer Kelly Bird said the man was with a group of people who were "cold plunging" in the river. The victim was carried away and traveled about 50 feet before grabbing onto the rock and climbing on top, where he was able to wait safely until rescuers arrived.
UFA brought in a ladder truck to reach the man, and the department's "heavy rescue team" set up a rope rescue system. Another team was in place downstream with a safety net, in case the man slipped off the rock and went back into the water.
The crew lowered a rescuer down to the rock, where the man was put into a harness and successfully lifted to dry land.
"This very well could have turned into a recovery incident, though, with the nature of the water right now, how cold it is, how fast it's moving," Bird said.
The whole process took about an hour.
Bird had some warnings for the public in reaction to this incident.
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First, he reminded the public that Big Cottonwood Creek and Little Cottonwood Creek are part of the watershed, and people are not supposed to be in the water in the first place.
He then cautioned about the strength of currents in rivers during the spring runoff season.
"This was a strong, fit individual, probably thought they were a really good swimmer, and it took them away, and there was nothing they could do about it," Bird said. " So, the message is: Don't get in the water. It's that simple. Don't get near the water unless you're wearing a personal flotation device."
Bird also said a reason this was a successful rescue is that the man was not alone, and the person he was recreating with called 911 immediately.
"They underwent a medical check, and it looks like everything's gonna be pretty good this time around," Bird said. "They did appear to be healthy, [but] probably very cold. There's probably a concern about some hypothermia, but as far as injuries go, there didn't appear to be any."
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