On June 14, 2024, Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers, Special Agents and a Patrol Captain rescued over 100 stranded tubers at Pirates Island along the Lower Salt River in Mesa Ranger District on the Tonto National Forest. These tubers had fallen off their tubes and were caught in debris and overgrowth from large tree branches, which jutted 10-15 feet over and into the water, obstructing the passage. Dozens of users lost their tubes, resulting in them being stranded on the shoreline, along with other tubers who were safely able to exit onto the shoreline prior to reaching the obstruction, accumulating about 100 to 200 tubers and complicating the situation further. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) were also on scene down river with airboats retrieving tubers who were unable to be captured at Pirates Island and had been swept further down river.
(USDA Forest Service video by Preton Keres)