4 Swept Into Flood Channel

Four people, three of them youths, escaped serious injury Thursday in the shallow but swift waters of the Pacoima Wash, which Fire Department officials said illustrated the dangers of entering flood control channels even when water levels are low.

The two incidents occurred less than three hours apart in Pacoima and Sylmar, where the wash channels water flowing out of the mountains.

“We actually do more rescues in that area than any other,” said Capt. Jack Wise, commander of the Los Angeles city Fire Department’s swift-water rescue team. He estimated that the foot-high water was running about 25 mph--fast enough to prevent people from regaining their footing.

“That’s one of the fastest areas because of the mountains. The gradient is steeper there than in other parts of the city,” he said. “Once you get going in there, there’s no way out.”

At about 11:45 a.m., two girls, ages 13 and 14, “fell into the water trying to recover their bikes,” which had been blown into the channel near El Cariso Regional Park as they walked alongside, San Fernando police spokesman Brian Sliwoski said.

As the girls were swept four miles down the channel, passersby heard their cries for help and called San Fernando police, which deployed at least 15 officers.

At 4th Street, two officers tried to catch the girls with their hands but the current ripped them loose.

One girl was saved near San Fernando Road, where she caught a rope that officers held across the channel. The other kept going, with officers shouting advice from the banks, until Det. Lance Steaman, who stands 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 240 pounds, scooped the girl out with one arm near Paxton Park, Sliwoski said.

The 14-year-old was released after treatment for minor hypothermia at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. The 13-year-old was turned over to her mother.

Less than three hours later, a 14-year-old boy lost his footing trying to cross the wash near the 11500 block of Bradley Avenue, said Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells.

A 19-year-old man sloshed through the channel and managed to drag the boy to safety but then the rescuer was dragged three miles down the channel until he caught a rope thrown by another bystander near Paxton Street and climbed onto a bridge abutment. He was plucked off by a Fire Department crew using the aerial ladder on their truck as a crane.

Both victims also were taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center with cuts, bruises and minor hypothermia, Wells said.

Since the rainy season began in September, at least 17 people have fallen into flood channels throughout the city, Wise said.

Even if there is no rain, Wise said, melting mountain snow, springs fed by full aquifers and brimming reservoirs will release rushing water for weeks to come.

“Just because it’s a dry sunny day doesn’t mean the washes aren’t dangerous,” he said.