RICHMOND, Vt. (WCAX) – After last week’s special report on the Huntington Gorge, Vermont’s deadliest swimming hole, WCAX viewers questioned why dangerous debris isn’t being removed while the water is low.
The drought has revealed trees, sticks, and other debris that create what the Vermont State Police dive team calls “strainers” because water flows through while swimmers get stuck and drown.
Vermont State Police Sergeant Jon Prack, a 10-year underwater recovery team veteran, says the amount of effort to remove the logs would not be worth the risk. He says police have had to remove similar logs before, and it’s dangerous work, especially in an area like the gorge.
Prack says the trees are extremely large, extremely heavy, and waterlogged. The next windstorm or high water event would replace them with more downed trees that go over the falls.
Even if the logs were removed, the risks of aerated water that swimmers immediately sink in, boulders that can pin people underwater, and strong currents would all still remain. “We can’t make everywhere safe,” Prack said.
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