Unusual water rescue. ‘Billy’ and ‘The Kid’ pulled from flooding Yakima River

The Yakima River near the Tri-Cities crested Monday morning above flood stage and started to recede, but not before Columbia Basin Dive Rescue was called out for a second rescue operation.

This time it was goats — Billy and The Kid — that had been swept away by the fast-moving river water.

On Friday, dive rescue members were called out to help a couple paddle boarding on the Yakima River as it rose more quickly than expected near West Richland.

A crew arrived to find one paddleboarder clinging to a tree after his board was swept away.

Then on Sunday, an unusual sight was reported to Benton County Fire District 2.

Two goats were floating down the river in the Benton City area in a white plastic tank with a goat-sized opening cut in its side.

The Dive Rescue crew navigated high, fast water filled with debris to reach the tank. They used a lasso to help bring them back to shore, the agency posted on Facebook.

“Both Billy and The Kid were checked out and are going just fine,” Dive Rescue said. “Even better, their owners were located and the duo has been safely returned home.”

Yakima River crest

The Yakima River crested at just under 13.4 feet at the Kiona gauge, which is the closest gauge to Richland, at 9 a.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Minor flood stage starts at 13 feet and moderate flood stage at 14.5 feet.

The water level was expected to fall to just below flood stage at 5 a.m. Tuesday, but remain in what’s called the “action” level until as long as late Friday night.

At the action level, people are urged to use caution near the river bank and move livestock out of low-lying pastures.

Flood water closed the West Richland Golf Course, but its restaurant at the clubhouse was open Monday.

Eastbound Van Giesen Street at the curve just east of the Yakima River in Richland had water standing on the right lane but other lanes were open Monday morning.

Benton City and West Richland boat launches remained closed Monday, along with the pedestrian pathway under the Van Giesen Street bridge in West Richland, which has been flooded since Friday.

Water reached the deck overlook of the Beach RV Park in Benton City, but did not flood into recreational vehicle spaces.

This was the second time the Yakima River has flooded in the Tri-Cities area in recent months, but the river was much higher during the flooding in mid December.

Then the river reached 16 feet deep at the Kiona gauge near Benton City, which is the major flood stage.

The Yakima River had not been that high near the Tri-Cities since the February 1996 flood, when the river reached nearly 21 feet at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Kiona gauge, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Freelance photographer Scott Hunt contributed to this report.

This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 2:41 PM.