Golden’s Clear Creek ideal training ground for swiftwater rescues The Orecart arrives: Golden launches free downtown circulator shuttle

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Whether it’s downtown visitors who need a little help getting around or Colorado School of Mines students wanting to access the RTD rail lines, the four-wheeled solution has arrived.

West

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When the inevitable water rescue calls come in, Golden Fire Department and other rescue agencies must be ready.

is month, swiftwater rescue trainees and instructors from across the Denver area and beyond have been swarming Clear Creek in and around Golden. Organizations like Dive Rescue International hosted trainees from local and out-of-state departments, while Golden and

West Metro Fire Rescue conducted internal training sessions.

While the water’s been too high and fast for most users this month, rescuers train in these conditions so they’re prepared for the worst, Golden’s Lt. Marc Staley explained. e run-o season typically lasts about a month, and Clear Creek has become a proverbial hotspot because of its trail access and water features.

Golden trained ve swiftwater rescue swimmers June 9 and 11. ey rst practiced how to self-rescue with various combinations of gear, then they worked on establishing rope lines across the creek, escaping debris in the water and saving people stranded in the creek.

According to Staley, less than a quarter of Golden’s re ghters are trained in swiftwater rescue.

It’s a similar story at West Metro, where only 25-30 of its 400-plus re ghters are trained in swiftwater rescues. Typically, only those assigned to Stations 8 and 17 undergo the training. Station 8 includes the

Mines and the City of Golden are launching the Orecart shuttle service this year, which will provide free public transportation around Golden, o cials have con rmed. While that service won’t launch until August or September, the city’s hosting its own downtown circulator shuttle in the meantime, starting June 16. It will o er free transportation along a single downtown route on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this summer.

Golden planner Matt Wempe said the downtown shuttle will collect data, improve accessibility and help alleviate Golden’s summertime parking woes.

Once the 2023-24 school year starts, Mines and the city will o er an expanded shuttle service with four routes:

Gold, which will circulate around downtown; Silver, which will go around the Mines campus; Tungsten, which will go through the city

SEE SHUTTLE, P3

West Metro Dive Team and Station 17 is near Wheat Ridge’s section of Clear Creek.

Between June 5-11, West Metro hosted internal Swiftwater Rescue I and II classes for seven trainees. eir nal search and rescue exercise, which was June 9 near Clear Creek Canyon’s Tunnel 1, required them to get a raft across the creek to save a stranded person, and then conduct a shoreline search.

Lead instructor Dave Dame emphasized how physically demanding the training is, as Clear Creek was moving around 1,000 cubic feet of water per second on June 9. Year-round, the creek ranges from 300-1,600 cubic feet per second, with June seeing the highest volumes.

In terms of speed, the water was moving about 15 mph, Dame estimated. While that doesn’t seem fast compared to a car on the nearby highway, he stressed how it’s “much faster than you can swim.” Plus, water temperatures are so low, people without proper gear can become hypothermic very quickly, he said.

Staley and Joe Gross, a GFD battalion chief, said they’ve elded dozens of water rescue calls in their combined 26 years as rescue swimmers. ey said too many people visit Clear Creek with a “water park mentality,” and don’t realize how dangerous the sheer volume of water can be.

“By the time they realize they need help, it’s too late,” Gross said. “ … ere are sections of the river that even we won’t swim (because they’re too dangerous).”

Gross also emphasized how even rescuers need to have a healthy respect for the creek, because it’s unlike re ghters’ usual training environments. When they train to put out res or go into burning buildings, their scenarios are controlled. Clear Creek is not.

However, Staley said, that while they can’t control the creek, it can become more predictable through their training.

Still, many who initially train in swiftwater rescue don’t feel comfortable retraining. Gross and Staley said being in the creek is exhausting, so GFD only wants those who are comfortable and prepared to do it.

Inevitably, each year there are a dozen or so rescue calls from late spring through the summer, Staley said. Two people died in creek-related accidents last year, and rescuers don’t want to see any more.

Staley also predicted Clear Creek could run higher than normal for the next few weeks. If so, the current redag restrictions could be extended into the typical tubing season.

Prospective creek users should pay attention to the ag warning status and all signage before getting in the water, and wear personal otation devices. While Golden, West Metro and other rescuers are prepared for the worst, they also hope it never comes.

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