Officials urge visitors to stay out of Kern River on Fourth of July

Rafters are dumped into the white water of the Ewing's rapids after their raft overturned on the Kern River in Kernville, Calif.

Rafters are dumped into the white water of the Ewing’s rapids after their raft overturned on the Kern River in Kernville, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

June 29, 2017 7:43 PM PT

After a spate of drownings this month in an unusually swollen Kern River, officials have a message of caution for visitors: Stay out of the water.

Snowmelt swells California rivers

Rafters navigate the white water of the Ewing’s rapids on the Kern River in Kernville, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

The Middle Fork of the Kaweah River is seen in California’s Sequoia National Park.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

A fisherman casts into a raging Kings River below Pine Flat Dam in Pine Flat, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

Kayakers in the Ewing’s rapids on the Kern River in Kernville, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

10 people pack into a raft after another one overturned in Ewing’s rapids on the Kern River in Kernville, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

Rafters launch for the popular Powerhouse Run on the Kern River in Kernville, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

Tulare County Sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Kemmerling points out a dangerous spot on the Kern River near Johnsondale Bridge.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

The upper Kern River rages in Kernville, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Snowmelt swells California rivers

The Tule River is seen in Springville, Calif.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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