High water danger advisory issued for Arkansas River

A high water advisory was issued for the Arkansas River below the Pueblo Reservoir Wednesday.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and Pueblo Fire Department said the river is flowing more than twice as high and twice as deep as normal for this time of year. It’s because of the melting snowpack in the mountains and the spring rains. The water is also colder.

“That will exhaust you a lot quicker than normal and the high water, there’s a lot of power behind it,” Pueblo Fire Department Chief Dale Villers said. “It’s easy to get swept away.”

Villers said you should always wear a life jacket, and if you’re kayaking you should wear a helmet too.

On Wednesday, crews continued searching for a man who fell into the river Monday. They believe 23 year-old Christopher Lynn Frazier drowned.