Russian River visitors heed toxic algae warning, keep pets out of water

The scorching sun beat down as a carload of people stepped out of a sedan Sunday and into the dusty parking lot at Steelhead Beach along the Russian River in Forestville.

Megan Merrill, 29, of Bali groaned in the heat as she and her friends slung towels over their shoulders, grabbed boxes of takeout and started walking past signs warning beachgoers to keep children away from algae and prohibiting pets from entering the water.

Merrill knew about the warnings but was still craving a swim.

“I want to submerge my body in that blue-green algae,” said Merrill, who had been camping with friends at Bullfrog Pond in the Austin Creek State Recreation Area.

Warnings about a toxic blue-green algae in the Russian River that killed a dog did not deter crowds of people who spent Sunday at the waterway’s many beaches. Signs and county park staff told people with pets to keep the animals out of the water and to prevent children from swallowing it.

The county stopped short of closing the beaches for the Labor Day weekend, a critical business time for communities along the river.

Russian River Chamber of Commerce President Debra Johnson said that while Friday seemed to be a somewhat slow beach day, with cooler temperatures, the roads were still clogged with traffic and downtown Guerneville was lively with people until late.

“Those that weren’t down at the beach were in town,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it had the impact that people thought it might have had.”

On Friday, Sonoma County health officials warned people to leave pets at home after confirming that a neurotoxin produced by blue-green algae caused the death of a golden retriever that swam in the river one week ago. Officials said that children were also at high risk and all swimmers should avoid swallowing water.

While some local merchants said the health warnings slowed business, others said parking lots were packed and beach chairs sold out.

At King’s Sport and Tackle on Main Street in Guerneville, they had only filled 18 of 55 available seats on kayaks and had slashed the price of inflatable rafts to lure more customers. Store manager Scott Heemstra said a group of kayakers nearly canceled their trip on Saturday but he convinced them to carry on as planned.

“Our business is probably half of what it should be,” Heemstra said. “My hope is the weather stays nice and people continue to come.”

However, several miles upstream at Burke’s Canoes, a load of sun-kissed and tired canoers were dropped off at the parking lot where they had begun their trip hours earlier.

Owner Linda Burke said business has been busy as usual because they do not allow pets on canoes and customers must be at least 5 years old and know how to swim.

Burke held up a clipboard with the county’s official public health message that people should practice “healthy water habits” that include avoiding algal scum or mats, preventing children from ingesting river water and staying away from still water where blue-green algae might grow.

“We’ve had a lot of people asking questions, and they are important questions, and they really appreciate the information,” Burke said.

The first warning about the possible risks of algae were posted to Russian River beaches about two weeks ago after small amounts were detected in certain areas of the waterway.

However, the situation became more serious when a 2-year-old golden retriever named Posie died Aug. 29 after accompanying his owners on a canoe trip on the river. Preliminary test results on Thursday implicated a more dangerous toxin, different from the one officials had previously detected, and one that they had not yet tested for in the river.

The dog died from a potent neurotoxin called Anotoxin-a that causes nervous system damage. The finding prompted a series of discussions among representatives of Sonoma County Regional Parks, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and other agencies about whether to close beaches over the holiday weekend.

In the end, health officials decided the river would remain open to people, but not pets. Officials Friday evening had posted new warnings at 26 public beaches, boat launches and parking lots.

Health Services Director Rita Scardaci said that dogs are susceptible to illness in contaminated waters because of their behavior.

“Because of the way they frolic in the water,” Scardaci said. “It’s almost the amount of exposure they get. Many dogs simply love to be in the water.”

On Saturday, parking lots at Steelhead, Sunset and Mom’s Beach in Forestville, as well as roadside parking areas, were all noticeably less crowded than would usually be the case on a summer weekend and particularly a three-day weekend.

The parking attendant at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville said the beach had staffed up for the weekend in anticipation of huge weekend crowds and, though there were guests there, it was less crowded than expected.

At Monte Rio Beach, the parking lot was very sparely used. Kevin Combes, who heads up the Monte Rio boathouse, said news about the blue-green algae “has had a tremendous effect on us.”

Suzanne Barbour of Corte Madera and a friend, Ciara Blessing of San Francisco, hadn’t heard anything about the algae until a reporter informed them. They were sitting at the edge of the water at Monte Rio Beach, inches from green algae, with their four young children.

Barbour and Blessing said they had cleaning wipes and Purell and would keep the kids’ hands clean.

“It’s too bad for the community,” Blessing said. “I’m sure they depend on this last weekend.”

By Sunday, the beaches were packed. The parking lots were full and roadside shoulders were lined with cars.

Dan Poirier, who owns Johnson’s Beach, said he believes that news of the toxic algae kept the crowds away Saturday, but by Sunday the kayaks, umbrellas and chairs were sold out by 1:30 p.m.

“We had a very, very, very busy day on the beach,” Poirier said.

At Johnson’s Beach, Ashley and Craig Finster of Napa had driven to the river after picking apples in Occidental and had briefly considered a quick swim with their 3-year-old daughter Vivienne.

They opted for ice cream instead because of the algae warnings, despite Vivienne’s pleas to ride in a boat.

“It’s not worth the risk,” Ashley Finster said.

Upstream several miles at Steelhead Beach, Vane Yanez, 39, of Richmond sat in a patch of shade with her 6-year-old poodle Boo-Boo, and she watched her husband and two children frolic in the water.

She and her husband were told by park staff to keep their animal out of the water, so they opted to take turns swimming. Boo-Boo appeared happy in the shade, none the wiser that he was missing out on a cool dip.

“In the past he swam with the family, but not today,” Yanez said.

Staff Writers Mary Callahan and Martin Espinoza contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.