LOS ANGELES RIVER : County Proposes Rescue Net Study

A month after a massive storm swept across Los Angeles, the County Board of Supervisors asked a range of county departments Tuesday to study placing rescue nets at strategic points along the Los Angeles River during rainstorms.

Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who proposed the study, said it was inspired by the death of 15-year-old Adam Bischoff of Woodland Hills, who was swept down the Los Angeles River to his death despite frantic efforts to rescue him.

Within days of the boy’s death, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus made a similar proposal asking that rescuers consider the viability of permanently attaching various rescue devices, including rolled-up nets, to bridges along the river.

Hahn’s motion, approved unanimously, instructed officials from such departments as public works, and beaches and harbors to report back to the board in a month on the feasibility of using “massive nets.”

However, Hahn acknowledged in his motion that designing such nets will be complicated because they must allow for “free passage of water and small objects, but provide a safe interception for humans and animals.” During the February storms, debris as large as trees and appliances washed down the river.

The board also asked for further discussions among city and county agencies to improve emergency communications during storms.