Poor Guy

[whitetop]

Crews succeed in retrieving classic El Camino from irrigation canal
Yakima Herald-Republic ^ | 5/18/16 | Mai Hoang

Posted on 5/18/2016, 8:39:50 PM by mdittmar

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Roza Irrigation District will turn on several irrigation pumps this morning after water in a portion of the Roza Canal reached sufficient levels following the extraction of a classic vehicle Monday.

The 1970 Chevrolet El Camino had been in a concrete-lined portion of the canal since May 7, when it rolled away from the garage of a home near Moxee.

By the time officials had completed the extraction and had begun refilling the canal — around 12:30 p.m. Monday — water levels had receded to about 1 foot where the car was retrieved, near State Route 24.

The water level had receded to the same level farther downstream near Konnowac Pass, said Roza Irrigation District Manager Scott Revell.

The Roza Irrigation District stopped diverting river water into the canal about 6:30 a.m. Monday and waited for several hours for water levels to recede before sending crews to extract the vehicle at around 11:30 a.m.

As crews pulled the vehicle out of the canal, a backpack fell out and headed downstream. Crews were able to retrieve the backpack, which had a wallet and other possessions of the 73-year-old man who owned the vehicle.

Workers extracted the car to prevent it from being pushed down into a siphon and lodging in the canal, which would have caused a restriction in the water flow, Revell said.

He won’t know definitively whether the car caused any physical damage to the canal, namely the sealant, until crews work on the canal after the irrigation season ends.

“We didn’t see any obvious damage,” he said.

Early on May 7, the owner of the 1970 El Camino was pushing it out of his garage in the 300 block of High Point Landing when it started rolling backward. The vehicle rolled over him as he tried to stop it, breaking his leg.

The car then went down a hill and into the canal. Despite his broken leg, the owner was able to walk and get help. His vehicle was found in the canal later that day.

As of Monday afternoon, Revell did not hear many complaints from users in the irrigation district about the shutdown.

“I think they had a little bit of lead time to adjust and the rain (over the weekend) made it that much easier,” he said.

[scuncio]

Wow, talk about a bad day.

[mockingbird812]

OUch! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif[/img]

[the427king]

I HAD AN ELKY WITH A ROOF LIKE THAT,OUCH

[wundercluck]

Wow I live an hour away and hadn't heard about it.
Don