The Lacey Fire District 3 and Thurston County Sheriff’s Office’s combined swiftwater rescue team was conducting training Saturday afternoon in the Nisqually River at Riverbend Campground.
Then they heard people about 300 yards away from them, Lacey Fire Battalion Chief Patrick Harn said, calling for help.
Four people floating the Nisqually all fell from their inner tubes, Harn said, and one was trapped underwater for about a minute. “She probably would have drowned if the crew wasn’t there,” Harn said.
The crew’s usual 10-to-15-minute response time was cut to seconds as they went to work getting her free from the log.