SALT LAKE CITY — Ty Hunter wasn't surprised last fall when a couple not wearing life jackets died when their canoe capsized at Strawberry Reservoir, but their dog survived because the owners fitted it with the life-saving equipment.
"I see it all the time, dogs wearing life jackets and sometimes more often than children," said Hunter, who is the program administrator and boating law coordinator for the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation.
Since last Oct. 1 through the first week of July, there's been six boating fatalities on Utah reservoirs — four of which Hunter said were totally preventable.
That dreadful statistic may well increase since the boating season is just now beginning to heat up with the warmer temperatures and the reporting period is not slated to end until Sept. 30.
During the same time period in 2016 and 2017, there were nine boating fatalities linked to boaters not wearing personal flotation devices, according to Hunter.
The division, fearing more tragedy, is launching its "Nobody Is Invincible” campaign early this year to get the message out that in a matter of seconds, circumstances can turn deadly on the water.
"Life jackets will buy you time. It is something you will need at one point when you are out on the water," he said.
"These swampings, these capsizings, these accidents — they happen so fast, bam. It's done. And these victims don't have their seat belt on while they are on the water."
The “Nobody Is Invincible” campaign includes public service announcements to spread awareness via YouTube as well as person-to-person contacts by park employees throughout the state.
"That is something they do everyday. They compliment great actions when they see them and try to correct behavior."
In Utah, 80 percent of Utah's boating-related fatalities involve people not wearing life jackets.
"One wake, one wave … it is done," Hunter said. "People get into panic mode. They don't know where their life jackets are, they are hanging onto seat covers."
Utah, like 49 other states as well as U.S. territories, reports its recreational boating accidents to the U.S. Coast Guard each reporting period for an extensive analysis of what is happening and why.
For Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017, there were 4,291 boating accidents that led to 658 deaths. The cause of death involved drowning in 74 percent of the cases and of those, 84.5 percent of the fatalities involved people not wearing a life jacket. For eight of 10 boaters who died, they were in boats less than 21 feet long.
In the overwhelming majority of fatalities, when the conditions were known and reported, visibility was described as "good" and wind was reported as none or light.
Aside from the two fatalities at Strawberry Reservoir in November, a Vernal man died in May at Flaming Gorge after a boat's driver took a sharp turn and tossed three of the occupants out.
The driver has since been charged with multiple felonies, including automobile homicide and driving under the influence — laws that Hunter say equally apply to operators of boats.
Earlier this month, a 25-year Salt Lake County man died at East Canyon when he decided to swim without a life jacket while boating. Crews recovered his body later that same day.
Hunter likened wearing personal flotation devices to older attitudes surrounding the use of seat belts while in a motor vehicle.
"I don't think there is anything happening that has changed," he said. "If we were to rewind, there was a time when seat belts were uncomfortable and horrible to put on, so we just didn't wear them. At that time, the closet thing to a belt was a parent's arm."
The parks division is hoping to change that with its “Nobody Is Invincible” campaign but admits it is a struggle because funding is minimal — both on local and federal levels.
"Our campaign is a drop in the bucket compared to what that (seat belt) campaign was," he said.
To promote the message, the division uses both serious and humorous approaches to capture people's attention.
At the division's booth at the Utah Boat Show and Water Expo, it even invited the "Reaper" to hang out and appeal to the public with the warning of “Avoid me. Wear your life jacket.”
"We are trying everything and anything we to tear down walls and get people to interact with us," he said.
The effort got a boost from a Boy Scout working on his service project for his Eagle badge.
With donated materials and volunteer labor, Landon Boyer built a life jacket loaner station at Jordanelle Reservoir.
"This could save lives potentially," Boyer said. "You come up here, if you don't have a life jacket, come and borrow one. We have all different sizes here."
It's all on the honor system — use the life jacket while you enjoy the water and return it for someone else to use after you are done.
Park rangers selected the site because of its location near the boat ramps and the new nonmotorized paddle craft area. Landon hopes people will not only follow the law when it comes to wearing life jackets, but won't take any risks even when it's is not required.
"There is no reason you should be going on the lake without one," Boyer said.
Contributing: Sam Penrod