Father’s Day weekend at Lake Mead was one of deadliest in recent memory, officials say

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - According to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, two people drowned and three died in a car accident over Father’s Day weekend, while 23 people were rescued by park rangers.

Water levels at Lake Mead are rising, and so are calls for service to park rangers.

“Father’s Day weekend was one of our deadliest weekends in awhile,” said Chevy Johnson, Patrol Sergeant for Lake Mead. “Wind was a contributing factor to that. That was the wind event that happened over the weekend.”

Sgt. Johnson said despite pool tools being banned from the lake, people still used them, and that resulted in people drowning.

“The way the wind is blowing, is it is either going to blow directly towards the beach or directly away from it, and when it blows away from the beach, these pools toys, they blow out and people think they can swim after them,” said Johnson.

He said the pool toys weren’t the only reason for the multiple rescues.

“We saw some rescues that were a result of dehydration, and/or drinking too much alcohol and people being generally fatigued,” said Johnson.

For all their major holiday weekends, park rangers do parkwide planning and devise action plans. They are already preparing for the 4th of July weekend.

“Allocate resources and what that is going to look like,“said Sgt. Johnson. “We pull extra people in and we bring people in on overtime.”

Sgt. Johnson said simple things like wearing a life jacket, checking the weather ahead of time and being aware of your surroundings can go a long way. Visitors who witness any dangerous or criminal activity such as assault, theft or drug use are advised to call park dispatch.