With the hot summer months well underway, Fresno County has recorded nine drownings thus far in 2024. Last year, there were 16 and 13 in 2022.
So while the number of tragic drownings appears to be trending down, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni says that it is still way too high.
“One drowning is too many,” he said.
In an effort to keep these incidences from occurring, including one drowning that took place in Firebaugh two weeks ago, the Sheriff’s Department has joined with local businesses and individuals to provide free life jackets to residents who choose to enjoy the county’s many waterways.
At a press conference last Friday afternoon, Zanoni showed off around 90 life jackets that were donated by individuals and businesses such as Century 21 Real Estate.
The sheriff and his deputies were scheduled to fan out on Saturday morning to four of the county’s most popular sites: Skaggs Bridge Park, Lost Lake, Avocado Lake, and Laton/Kingsburg Park. They were to give the brand new life jackets to anyone.
Zanoni said at the press conference that the goal is to get more swimmers in the habit of wearing jackets every time they get into a lake or river.
“We’ve accumulated a variety of life jackets and our plan is to hand these out to residents free of charge,” he remarked.
It took only two weeks to acquire the 93 jackets, he added.
“Some members of our community came up with campaigns encouraging people to donate life jackets,” Zanoni said. “This idea was sparked after three young people drowned during the month of June. Two took place in the San Joaquin River and one in Shaver Lake. All the incidents shared the same things in common, the people did not know how to swim and were not wearing life jackets—or at least did not have one properly secured.”
To prevent future tragedies such as the drowning death of 15-year-old Nixon Guerra in the San Joaquin River in Firebaugh, Zanoni had a clear message: “Stay out of the water if you are not an experienced swimmer and if you are going to get into the water, wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket. Make sure it fits you properly and it is fully fastened with the zipper and buckles.”
The sheriff added that depending on the response and the number of jackets in hand, he would work with other agencies such as the Firebaugh Police Department to have jackets available locally.
Anyone wishing to donate money or jackets towards the program can contact Public Information Officer Tony Botti at 559-600-8137.
