As days warm, Washington waters remain chilly - and even dangerous

Indexado: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Well, first responders say that this time of the year the water can be deceiving and like you just said Joyce, the air is warm but the water out there it is still cold. Some of the temperatures in our local lakes and rivers look, you know, they're still pretty cold. So, here at Lake Union it's 61° roughly. Lake Washington running about the same at 61. But up at the Skykomish River where this rescue happened, it's a chilly 50° right now.

[00:00:27]And that kind of cold water can make you lose your breath. It can make your muscles weak and make you start to panic. So, tonight we spoke with one woman who knows how quickly things can go wrong after she reunited with one of the men who saved her life.

[00:00:44]Washington's lakes and rivers don't have to look violent to be dangerous.

[00:00:50]10 years ago on a hot May day >> awful. Nicole Gartner and her friends thought they were heading out for an adventure. And it was 86° out and we were so excited cuz we were going to We had the big ambition that we were going to float down in our kayaks to Everett.

[00:01:07]But the Skykomish River had other things in mind. Hidden debris, cold runoff, strainers, downed trees, and root balls that water can move through but people can't.

[00:01:18]>> I hit a strainer and the pressure of the water squishing you up against strainer.

[00:01:24]>> [snorts] >> Believing that everybody that you're with is dead. Nicole says her kayak flipped. She was pulled under. When she came back up, she grabbed onto a root ball. And I got my arms like lodged into the branch above me.

[00:01:38]Cuz I knew if I was going to like pass out or something, I would float away.

[00:01:42]And I didn't I didn't want my body to get lost. It took crews about 45 minutes to find her.

[00:01:50]>> Jeff pulled me up.

[00:01:53]And he said I need you to hold on. This is going to [laughter] be really hard. Now, 10 years later, Nicole reunited with Pete Parish.

[00:02:02]>> So, Nicole's been on my heart for the last decade.

[00:02:04]>> One of the rescuers who saved her life.

[00:02:07]>> Meeting the person that is um the reason why I'm still here today. She would have died if we hadn't got there.

[00:02:17]For both of them, this reunion is personal, but it is also a warning.

[00:02:22]>> What cold water you get in it, you think you're fine, uh then your body starts to cramp up, you start to your lungs start to tighten, uh you start to hyperventilate, panic, and by the and if you're if you're swimming without a personal flotation device, you end up sinking.

[00:02:39]>> Nicole knows she was lucky. I don't ever want anybody else to go through what I went through.

[00:02:48]And first responders say that if you plan on heading out into the water this weekend, make sure that you are wearing a life jacket that actually fits you.

[00:02:57]Make sure that you check the conditions, and especially for the rivers because of all that flooding we had in December, they say those are no longer the same as what they were last summer, so you want to be really cautious and aware. And if you have any questions, they say all of the firefighters around here are happy to answer any of those questions and give you some tips and advice. Reporting live in Seattle, Bridget Chavez, KING 5 News.