Lake Pleasant boaters retrieve their boats after monsoon chaos over the weekend
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - Waters were a lot calmer on Monday at Lake Pleasant after chaos broke out when a monsoon rolled through.
Several people were rescued at the lake on Sunday, July 21, after harsh waters from a thunderstorm sunk some boats and sloshed around others.
"I think everybody panicked … With the panic and everything coming so fast, we didn't expect these monsoons. That's one thing you have to watch out for because they come in minutes," Juan Herrera said.
As many in Arizona know, monsoons can be forewarned, but they seem to come out of nowhere and fast, too.
It was no easy task to get a sunken boat out of Lake Pleasant. Herrera was there to help when he got the call.
"My concern was him. So I was like, ‘Oh, is everybody OK?' That's my first baby. I've got a boat myself. I have grandkids, I take everybody out. So I know how devastating it is," he said.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office got several calls late Sunday afternoon for water rescues.
"They start to panic, and they don't know what to do and if it comes to it, you have to leave your boat. No boat is worth your life," said MCSO Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez.
MCSO and the Peoria Fire-Medical Department rescued 30 boaters during the high winds, which were estimated to be between 40 and 60 mph.
Boats that were beached or docked were sunk, and now boaters are spending the day getting their boat out of the water.
"We rented a pump and we were pumping it out as we were pushing it in. He was behind, I had the control of the motor and we managed it and got it here," Herrera said.
MCSO says the best thing you can do when out on the water is to wear your life jacket because the elements out here aren't the same as a backyard pool.
‘Pretty fast, pretty violent’
"Our boat was over there on the rocks and today we came and pulled it out," Harvey Hitchcock said.
Rick Soria said, "The current just threw me into the rocks. Tried to anchor down, and it was not grabbing. I went into the rocks sideways."
What was supposed to be a fun day on the water quickly turned dangerous.
"I look back and say, ‘What could we have done different?’ When we saw the storm clouds a little earlier, we could have immediately came in," Hitchcock said.
Soria said the storm came quickly and everyone tried to leave at the same time.
"It came pretty quick, pretty fast, pretty violent and just nobody really had time," he said. "Everybody tried to come in at once. That was a bad idea."
Waves were high and water overtook some of the boats. Unfortunately, that's what happened to Hitchcock's 20-year-old boat.
"Two big waves came over the boat, and it swamped the boat, but everybody had life jackets on," he said. "I'm looking around, and it's beat up. It's probably totaled. I don't know enough about boats to know for sure."
Another tip is to always dock your boat if you see stormy weather on the way.