Colorado's on pace to have a record number of drownings this year. They happen fast.
You’re a fit, strong, swimmer enjoying a Fourth of July outing on a Colorado lake when you accidentally fall off the boat. You had a life vest on board, but you thought that as a grownup you didn’t need to wear it whenever you are on the water. Now as you fall, you reach for the life jacket but can’t put it on before you hit the waves. You gasp –inhales when they hit cold water unexpectedly. Momentum forces your head under the surface. Less than a cup of water fills your lungs.
Cold Water Immersion Shock is different from the more familiar hypothermia and happens much faster. Cold-water shock comes almost instantly, causing death in less than one minute. Hypothermia takes a few minutes to kill; if you can keep your head above the water for a crucial sixty seconds, then you may have ten minutes before the cold renders you unable to move your leg or arm muscles, or even shout for help.
By June 22 of this year, thirteen people had drowned, CPW reports. Of those, eleven victims were not wearing a life vest/life jacket . Two victims were wearing PFDs, but they drowned in river rapids where other risks abound, such as getting trapped by fallen trees. In mid-June, the surface temperature at Cherry Creek Reservoir registered about 54 degrees Fahrenheit.
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