Fresno County Sheriff's Office closes Kings River until further notice

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims wants to make Memorial Day weekend a little safer for families. Wednesday, she announced the closure of the Kings River until further notice.

"Effective immediately, the Kings River from the Pine Flat Dam all the way through Fresno County will be closed to any floaters, any boating, and any swimmers-- any kind of recreation on the waterway."

The decision comes as a result of the large amount of inflow from melting snow from the Sierra that has caused the river to double in size from just last week.

"The water is flowing at a very fast rate, you can see bushes and trees in the water which catch boaters and swimmers which cause very dangerous situations," said Mims.

The water is also ice cold-- exposure could cause hypothermia.

Members of the Sheriff's Boating Enforcement Unit will be out in full force this weekend ready to cite violators up to $225.

"We are not closing our county parks, however, we are letting people know do not get into the water," said Mims.

The effort to keep Fresno County families safe comes after both Tulare and Kings Counties closed the river running through those areas earlier this year.