Woodland rescue: Four swept away by current in North Fork

Woodland firefighters and paramedics with AMR Northwest ambulance service used a jet boat Friday to rescue four fishermen who, while wading in the North Fork of the Lewis River in Woodland, were swept away by the current.

One adult fisherman nearly drowned; he and a boy in the group were taken by ambulance to Southwest Washington Medical Center, said Woodland Fire Department Chief Mike Jackson.

Their names and medical conditions weren’t immediately available. Federal medical-privacy laws apply to fire departments when medical care is provided.

Shortly before 2:15 p.m. Friday, other fishermen noticed the emergency and called 911 from near the flood wall at -Lewis River Road and Goerig Street, Jackson said.

The three men and the boy, after fishing on an island, had been trying to wade to their car, parked on the Woodland side of the river, when they were swept away.

“They were surprised by the current; that’s what caught them off guard,” Jackson said.

The three men made it to an island and the boy made it to another.

One of the three men was unconscious at one point, his companions said.

Firefighters and AMR paramedics went to a private boat landing on the Clark County side of the river where the fire department’s 24-foot jet boat is kept.

They took the boat to the islands. The man who had been reported unconscious had revived by the time the rescuers arrived.

“These folks were very lucky, for sure,” Jackson said, adding that the river “is cold and the current can be very swift.”

The rescued people wore no flotation vests, which should be worn on the river, Jackson said.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.