OLYMPIA — As the weather heats up, law enforcement agencies will be stepping up targeting people boating under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The state Parks Boating Program and state Department of Fish and Wildlife police will join city and county marine patrol units on the special patrols, which will start this Memorial Day weekend and run on several weekends through Aug. 19, the Olympian reported.
The emphasis patrols are scheduled for: May 27-28 at Crescent Bar on the Columbia River, June 30-July 2 statewide, July 4 at Lake Tapps, July 28-29 on the Columbia River in Kennewick and Pasco, Aug. 3-6 on Lake Washington in Seattle for SeaFair, Aug. 4-5 at Lake Roosevelt on the Columbia River, and Aug. 18-19 on the Columbia River in Vancouver.
“It is never safe to operate a boat under the influence,” Wade Alonzo, State Parks’ boating law administrator, said in a written statement.