Only one serious accident occurred on area lakes during the Fourth of July holiday when a middle-aged male severely lacerated his arm while jumping off a boat on Lake Hamilton around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Emergency responders have not released the identity of the male who was injured. He reportedly was on a boat anchored in a cove near Garvan Woodland Gardens. The injury to his arm was so severe that responders applied at least two tourniquets to try to stop the bleeding.
A landing zone was set up on Carpenter Dam Road near Entergy Park for the patient to be airlifted to a hospital in Little Rock, according to Lake Hamilton Fire and Rescue Chief Doug Davey.
"As far as boat situations, that was the only call we had," Davey said.
Things were busier off the water, with Lake Hamilton Fire receiving five calls throughout the day for emergencies ranging from a motor vehicle accident to a brush fire on Lakeland Drive.
"On the ground, we were busy," Davey said. "Five calls is typical for the Fourth of July. We are usually busy on that day."
Capt. Shelby Terry with the Garland County Sheriff's Department also said it was calm out on the water. The department had several boats patrolling Lake Hamilton on Wednesday.
"It was fairly quiet for the Fourth," Terry said. "That is until the fireworks started going off."
Local on 07/06/2018