The lake is popular destination on a long weekend. Boaters on Lake Havasu will see a new feature on some beaches that might help save a life.
One item often overlooked is a life jacket. By law, anyone 12 or younger must be wearing one, and all boats must be stocked with one for each passenger. But instead of taking the risk of boating without one, new life jacket loaner stations have been installed at Windsor Beach on Lake Havasu.
Josh Hoffman, boating safety education coordinator with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, is in charge of the life jacket stations.
“They are being used regularly. And, when we check on the stations most of them are back on a regular basis. And that is really encouraging,” Hoffman said.
Sometimes people will take them for days at a time. But, Hoffman said, they always find their way back.
The free program has only been available at Lake Havasu for a week. Hoffman said these seeing them at the beach for the first time will know which ones they are.
“These jackets have a big Game and Fish Logo with the words ‘Loaner Jacket.’ So, we’re not really worried about people taking them and reselling them,” he said.
Hoffman said the program has been popular and the feedback has been positive.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department plans on installing jacket stations at Saguaro and Canyon Lake in the next few months.
