Raft and canoe incidents prompt rescues on Willamette and McKenzie rivers in Eugene

Two people were rescued and a woman was revived Saturday after rescues on the Willamette and McKenzie rivers near Eugene.

Woman resuscitated after falling from raft on McKenzie River

The first incident occurred at 2:01 p.m. when rescue crews were dispatched to the McKenzie River between Hayden Bridge and Harvest Landing in Springfield.

According to the Eugene-Springfield Fire Department, callers reported an unconscious woman floating in the river after falling from her raft.

A rescue boat “happened to be training near the call and responded quickly,” according to a news release. “Bystanders had brought the woman to shore and had begun CPR. (The rescue boat) quickly loaded the patient onto their boat and continued CPR to the nearest boat ramp where Engine Fire Department Engine 14 was waiting to initiate advanced life support.”

Emergency responders successfully resuscitated the woman and she was taken to RiverBend Hospital in life-threatening condition, the news release said.

Canoe capsizes in the Willamette River

Later that day, one person was taken to a local hospital after a canoe capsized on the Willamette River, the Eugene-Springfield Fire Department said.

At 5:11 a.m., a water rescue call was reported near the Knickerbocker bike bridge. Bystanders reported seeing a canoe capsize with two boaters on board, the news release said.

“One boater was wearing a life jacket and was able to reach shore, while the other boater was rescued by a nearby drift boat,” officials said. “The second individual was treated by paramedics and taken to a local hospital for evaluation.”

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is the host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon and Hiking Southern Oregon. He can be reached at [email protected] or (503) 399-6801. Find him at X at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared in the Salem Statesman Journal: 2 rescued on the Willamette and McKenzie rivers near Eugene