First responders credit life jacket use in multi-agency response at Rampart Reservoir

Dean Miller
Southeast Region Public Information Officer
719-466-3927
[email protected]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The safety-minded decision to wear life jackets is being heralded in the positive outcome of four paddleboarders knocked into the water as wind and waves increased suddenly and dramatically on Rampart Reservoir Sunday afternoon. 

First responders including Colorado Parks and Wildlife, El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Teller County Sheriff's Office, Colorado Springs Fire Department, and North East Teller County Fire Protection District headed on-scene after emergency calls for the downed paddleboarders came in, recorded at 2:48 p.m. by the EPSO Regional Communications Center.    

Two adults and two teens were impacted by the weather change. The adults and teens, unrelated, were recreating in separate areas and found themselves swimming in water temperatures recorded in the 50s in a reservoir with depths to 180 feet.

As first responders raced to the area, EPSO deputies arrived on scene first and borrowed a citizen’s vessel to initiate a search for the paddle boarders. Deputies also made the call for drone and additional boat support. The deputies located and rescued the two adults and soon received news that the teens had made it safely to shore on their own. First responders linked up with the teens to confirm the good news, terminating the response effort by 6:15 p.m.

Rampart is a 500-acre reservoir owned by Colorado Springs Utilities located on the U.S. Forest Service’s Pike National Forest about five miles east of Woodland Park in far western El Paso County. The reservoir features unique underwater rock formations behind its 230-foot-tall dam. 

While there is not a permanent safety, nor law enforcement presence at Rampart Reservoir, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were on site Friday and Saturday.

“The fact that these individuals chose to wear life jackets most certainly saved their lives,” said Tim Kroening, CPW Area Wildlife Manager. “The majority of water-related deaths in Colorado occur because people do not wear a life jacket. In the two days prior, our team made direct contact at Rampart Reservoir with more than 400 boaters, anglers and others recreating there to ensure compliance with safety requirements and fishing licenses.” 

CPW officers actively write tickets to boaters and paddlers in violation of life jacket policies. Tickets cost over $100.

Best practices for water safety:

• Wear a life jacket​. 

• Find a CPW life jacket loaner station to borrow a lifejacket. Note: There is not a lifejacket loaner station at Rampart Reservoir at this time. 

• Protect yourself from the dangers of cold water shock. Regardless of your age or experience level, cold water can quickly create a drowning emergency.

• Paddleboards and kayaks are considered vessels, and life jacket requirements apply. 

• On rivers, heavy rain or wind can rapidly raise water levels without warning. Check river flows at https://dwr.state.co.us/Tools/Stations.

• Only boat or paddle in conditions you are comfortable and confident paddling in.

• Boat and raft with a buddy and avoid floating alone, especially during high flows.

• “Clean, drain and dry” your boat and gear. Find a CPW Gear and Watercraft Cleaning Station to decontaminate your boat, wet equipment, waders and boots.

• Alcohol impairs judgment, balance, vision and reaction time on the water, which can increase fatigue and the dangers of cold-water immersion. A general rule to remember is that one drink on land is equivalent to three drinks on the water.