King County Sheriff Sue Rahr today called for the reopening of a section of the Cedar River, a part of which has been closed since March due a log jam.

Extensive flooding in January formed a mass of logs across the river and changed the river channel at the Ricardi Reach, also known as Cedar Rapids. That made recreational use of that section of the river extremely dangerous.

King County removed the logs and trees last week and the danger has been at least mitigated.

Originally, a four-mile section of the river was closed. That was later reduced from to about a mile, beginning at the 76 Station on State Route 169 to the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area. Now, the entire section is open.

Sheriff’s Office Marine deputies floated that part of the Cedar after the log jam was removed. The section is passable to recreational use, but still challenging and dangerous to those either ill-prepared or ill-equipped, especially to those trying to float the river on inner tubes or float toys.

Users of all major rivers in unincorporated King County are reminded of the new ordinance that goes into effect July 1, mandating lift vests in most situations. That includes floating the Cedar River.