On average, the Reno Fire Department's Water Entry Team (WET Team) handles 50 to 60 water rescues a year. That's why their training is year-round.
A water rescue generally means someone is stuck in the river, or another body of water, and can't get out on their own. That's when the WET Team is called in.
Johnathan Bernard, a member of the team, says while the Truckee River is beautiful, it can be quite dangerous.
"Reno is really lucky and really unique that it has a river flowing right through the middle of it. It is, however, one of our bigger hazards, especially in the summertime, as crowds come on to the river and alcohol gets involved," said Bernard. "Bad choices get made, and we end up running between 50 and 60 calls a year, rescuing people off the river."
Bernard says that a lot of their other rescues are homeless people or others looking to get away from cops. It could even be boaters and tubers who are a little out of their depth.
The training session for 2026 started in February, but the team makes a point to run exercises monthly to keep their skills sharp.
"In the springtime, all the runoffs come off the mountains, the flows come off on the river. So, it's really important for us to get our team members in the water, get brush up on our skills that, you know, we've neglected over the winter because it's been ski season," says Barnard.
Bernard notes that some of the top dangers of the river are the ever-changing depth, how fast the water is moving, and the temperature. The best way to stay safe is to wear a life jacket, or keep one on your raft, and check the river flow ahead of time. He says if the water is above 1,000 cubic feet per second, it's probably too high for average tubers to be in.Â
Wayer flow can be checked at Explore - USGS Water Data for the Nation or Dreamflows Realtime Flows Report.
