Vehicle found totally submerged in Perkins Lake

(Courtesy Photo) Multiple agencies responded to the scene.

(Courtesy Photo) The 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser being pulled from Perkins Lake while firefighters provide hazmat operations.

Photo by NORTH BENCH FIRE Divers insured that there were no occupants in the vehicle.

by Mandi Bateman Editor
| July 25, 2019 1:00 AM

(Courtesy Photo) The 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser being pulled from Perkins Lake while firefighters provide hazmat operations.

Photo by NORTH BENCH FIRE Divers insured that there were no occupants in the vehicle.

BONNERS FERRY — On Friday, July 19, a vehicle was reported totally submerged in Perkins Lake. It was unknown as to whether or not there were people in the vehicle. Boundary Search and Dive Rescue, Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, North Bench Fire, Curley Creek Fire, and Boundary Ambulance responded to the call.

Upon arriving at the scene at the Perkins Lake dock, divers, Boundary County Sheriff’s Marine Deputy Caleb Watts and Boundary Search and Dive Rescue Team Member Levi Falck, dove down to assess the situation. Finding the vehicle, a 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser with South Dakota license plates, they determined that there were no occupants inside, so extrication was not needed.

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The divers then attached a cable to the vehicle, while North Bench firefighters provided hazmat operations and mitigation, in case of any fuel leakage.

“Crews utilized a variety of booming tactics to contain and prevent further environmental damage, while the vehicle was being removed from the Lake,” North Bench Fire reported on their Facebook page.

Details as to how and when the vehicle ended up in the lake remain under investigation.