Vallejo man's death Sunday marks 3rd Lake Berryessa drowning in 2 weeks
NAPA -- An 18-year-old Vallejo man drowned in Lake Berryessa on Sunday, the third drowning in two weeks at the Napa County lake and the 11th since 2020.
The Napa County Sheriff' Office tweeted at 6:37 p.m. Sunday that Zaire Watu Fairley drowned at the lake's Smittle Creek day use area. Witnesses said Fairley was standing on a log and slipped into the water.
The sheriff's office tweeted last week that, since 2020, seven of the 10 previous drownings occurred at Oak Shores day use area, where everyone is allowed to rent life jackets for free.
Marciallo Perez, a 35-year-old resident of San Pablo, drowned July 3 while trying to save his son around 3 p.m. in the Oaks Shores area. The boy survived.
The drowning was the second in six days at Lake Berryessa. Officials said the lake has steep drop-offs close to shore where the depth of water changes suddenly.