Firefighters install mile marker signs along Floyds Fork, Salt River to help disoriented kayakers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The long and beautiful winding tributary of Floyds Fork comes with a serious problem: Kayakers get disoriented because of exhaustion.

Officials say kayakers keep calling 911 because they get disoriented and often think they've traveled farther than they have and cannot tell first responders where to find them.

The number of exhausted kayakers calling for help is "too high to count," Zoneton Fire Marshal Kevin Moulton said in a news release Tuesday.

Luckily, none of the kayakers who have called 911 has experienced a medical emergency, Moulton said.

Signs are being put up by Mount Washington and Zoneton firefighters every half mile along Floyds Fork and the Salt River, beginning at the Jefferson-Bullitt County line and down to the Salt River to help those making the journey communicate their exact location should they become lost, Moulton said.

"We hope this work will help people to tell us where they are, so we can get to them as quickly as we can," he said.

Bullitt County Emergency Management provided funding for the signs.

Shepherdsville firefighters have already put signs up on the trees along the Bullitt County portion of the Salt River.

Similar markings are also posted in the Jefferson County portion of Floyds Fork.

Moulton shared potentially life-saving tips with kayakers: "Always start with a fully charged cell phone and know how to send your cell phone's location information to another cell phone if your phone has that capability."