MAINE, USA — Whether you're boating or hitting the ATV trails for the first time or the hundredth time for Fourth of July festivities, public safety officials want you to be prepared for whatever could happen.
Game wardens will be out on the water, looking for boaters driving under the influence or violating other rules, according to Game Warden Rick Ouellette.
While wardens will be ready to assist anyone who needs help, he said he wants people to be prepared, too.
"You never know what's going to happen out there on the water," Ouellette said. "You want to make sure you have extra life jackets and you have extra safety gear and rope so if you find somebody that is in a rough way that you can help them."
On Monday, many Mainers were getting ready for their Fourth of July celebrations by putting their boats in the water and getting their camps ready for guests.
"We've been trying to wait for dry weather to be able to get it down onto the water and hopefully be able to use it tomorrow for the fourth when we got family coming over," Phillips Lake camp owner Brandon Fell said.
While the waterways will be busy for the holiday, Ouellette said he's expecting a lot of people to hit the ATV trails as well. But with the recent rainfall, you may have to wait to give the ground in certain areas time to dry out.
"Trails vary from day to day or week to week. You might go through an area one day and the next time you go by there may be washouts that you have to be concerned with or trees down that you didn't anticipate would be around the next turn," Ouellette said.
He wants to remind folks to wear a helmet and always be prepared to stop.