The Truckee river was looking more like a portion of the Colorado river along Highway 89 from Tahoe City to Truckee on Tuesday. Large logs and debris that had been sitting along the riverbanks were seen floating at high rates of speed down the river, and waters raged past rocks, trees and bridges. At River Ranch, people gathered to look at the roaring river as it passed the popular restaurant.

"Its really crankin' now," commented one River Ranch staff member. "I hope they can drop it back down for the big weekend."

River Ranch is not alone in that thought. Local raft companies have effectively been closed down for two days as the river, flowing at over 700 cfs, is unsafe for casual float rafting.

Although a few private rafts were seen on the river Tuesday, several hundred more are expected each day over the July 4th weekend. Last year, commercial raft companies waited to have enough water to begin rafting, and weren't able to open until as late as July 17th. As a result the impacts of more self-launched rafts along the river were felt. Trash, abandoned rafts, and debris littered the Truckee river after the big weekend and local officials were forced to make a quick cleanup.

Another dangerous impact of the current situation is the increase of floating debris on the Lake. All around Lake Tahoe, floating debris has become a common sight, having been dislodged from the shores by the extreme lake levels. Boaters, who normally don't have this sort of concern, would be wise to slow down and keep a keen eye on the water surface this summer. The surprise of hitting a floating tree at high speed could be deadly.