Red flag or green, advocates urge caution on Lake Michigan

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — As crowds from across the country flock to the lakeshore, experts are reminding people that Fourth of July weekend is one of the most dangerous times of the year on Lake Michigan.

Eight-year-olds Cyrus and Ezra Latimer and their 10-year-old brother Everett came all the way from Pennsylvania to spend part of the holiday at Grand Haven State Park. Cyrus said his favorite part of the beach is getting in the water.

“(It’s) freezing cold right now,” Cyrus said.

Everett said his goal is to have a lot of fun and see the area.

“To get to tour Michigan,” Everett said. “We’re from Pennsylvania and I want to see all the sights, you know?”

While families enjoy Michigan’s wonderful beaches, experts want people to be careful.

“In many ways, the Great Lakes can be more dangerous than the ocean,” Bob Pratt, the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project ‘s co-founder and director of education, said.

“You may be a great swimmer at the YMCA or grandma’s condo pool, but when you get to Lake Michigan, you need a completely different skillset,” Pratt added. “If you’re a parent, understand your children need a completely different set of skills.”

Pratt and his team have been studying drownings on the Great Lakes since 2010. He says Fourth of July weekend has historically been deadly.

“Take a look at the weather before you go, take something with you that floats, keep a close eye on your children and hopefully everybody comes back from a safe enjoyable weekend at the beach,” Pratt said.

The good news is the forecast doesn’t look bad for the holiday weekend. The National Weather Service says the Fourth of July will bring waves of less than a foot on Lake Michigan. Waves are expected to be between 1 and 2 feet on Friday. Saturday could be a yellow flag day with waves between 2 and 4 feet.

While Wednesday was a red flag day in Grand Haven, Pratt said sometimes green or yellow flag days are a bigger concern.

“Most of our drownings happen on green and yellow flag days because people think the conditions are safe, when the lake is really never safe,” Pratt said. “You should never turn your back on the Great Lakes. Understand they are very powerful bodies of water.”

The GLSRP says there have been 36 drownings across the five Great Lakes so far this year, including 16 on Lake Michigan. Pratt said more drownings tend to happen on Lake Michigan because there is higher population around it, especially on the south end.

Drownings were down last year, with 85 across the Great Lakes, according to the GLSRP. The last decade has averaged 98 each year.

“We think there’s more water safety education, new rules and legislation targeting people for going into water on red flag days,” Pratt said.

Of more than 1,200 drownings on the Great Lakes since 2010, Pratt said only a few happened when people were wearing life jackets.

“If you wanna almost guarantee your survivability, wear a life jacket,” Pratt said. “There are more and more life jacket loaner stations around. When you go to the beach, designate a water watcher, designate somebody whose only function is to watch the kids in the water and has the ability to rescue the kids and knows what drowning looks like.”

Pratt says if you’re ever caught in a current , don’t fight it. Instead, remember to flip, float and follow.

“Flip over onto your back: that allows you to breathe whenever you want,” Pratt said. “Float to calm yourself down and conserve your energy. Float to know if you’re being pulled one way or another in a current and then follow a path back to safety where you’re not fighting against the current.”

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