News

Actions

Business owners say times are booming once again with river flowing at its highest point in years

Posted

We've been talking about the flow of the Kern River this year and just how mighty it actually is.

 

As the owner of Frandy Park Campgrounds the missing 11 sites the river has flooded out takes a little bit of a toll on their books because they can't rent out those sites, but she will never argue with a fully flowing river.

 

“I won't gripe about the water but it has proved to be quite challenging,” said Demetriff.

It's not the first time the Kern River has taken over the Frandy Park campsites, nor will it be the last.

 

But this year Demetriff welcomes the challenge with open arms.

 

We have to creative. Find other areas to put people when their spots flood out. So far I haven't had to cancel anyone, everybody's worked with me.  It's been…it's been really nice,” said Demetriff.

 

She just knows that more people means more of a risk of something happening.

Especially those who don't listen to the warnings.

 

The river is flowing at a rate that people haven't seen in I don't know how many years. It's not the same slow lazy river that we've seen over the past five years,” said Demetriff.

 

As for another business feeling the impact of the rushing river this year, SoCal Rafting's president Lucian Whitman calling this possibly the best year he's ever seen.

 

“Gosh we probably took 10,000 people down the river last year and so far we're triple. We're up 300 percent,” said Whitman.

 

Whitman says he realizes the entire community up here thrives on water, not just his business.

 

It's really neat to see this town come back alive and to see the secondary and tertiary business that surrounds the river,” said Whitman.

 

Safety again coming to the forefront and not just for the sake of his own business.

 

“A tube and a life jacket was great two years ago. It was a blast. This year it's death. So yeah go with a professional and stay out of the tubes this year,” said Whitman.