Initially unaffected, except for localized flooding by the January 1995 rains,
Fresno County was the scene of at least two notable flood rescues in March.
Friday evening, March 10, at approximately 9:00 p.m. nearly 150 feet of Interstate
5 was washed away when a bridge spanning Arroyo Pasajero Creek failed, near the west
valley’s already saturated soil. The failure was initially attributed to heavy water flows
combined with the liquefaction of already saturated soil.
Initially motorists were able to stop, but three cars ignored the frantic waving of
bystanders and sailed off the edge at full speed. One driver, Wayne Johnson, recalled that
his windows would not go down or the doors open, so he exited through the rear window
of the cab of his pickup and ended up clinging to a tree in the frigid water for nearly an
hour, before a volunteer rescuer helped him to shore.
The other drivers were not as fortunate, and the final toll was four dead. One of
the cars was found 200 yards downstream by rescue team personnel, on its roof and
packed with mud.
Besides the fatalities and rescue operations, this incident effectively eliminated one
of the two remaining north-south routes in the state, closing 200 miles of freeway which
normally carry more than 25,000 cars a day. After initial predictions that the freeway
would be closed for several months, a contractor was able to build a temporary bridge out
of railroad flatcars, and limited traffic was restored in less than two weeks.
A little over one week later on March 19, 1995, a 7-year-old from Clovis, near
Fresno, died after the canoe she was riding in with her 4-year-old brother and two uncles
hit a bridge abutment on the swollen San Joaquin River. When the boat flipped, the 17
and 24-year-old men, who were not wearing lifejackets, were quickly rendered unable to swim by the 44-degree water. Swiftwater-trained Fresno firefighters and the American
Ambulance Special Trauma and Rescue (STAR) team could not lift the girl from the
debris pile until one of their members climbed down and cut her free from sticks and
debris hanging on to her lifejacket.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) rescued the 17-year-old and 4-year-old
about 1/2 mile further down the river with their helicopter.
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