Firefighters rescue woman, man and dog from rain-swollen L.A. River
Firefighters spent nearly two hours trying to rescue a woman, her dog and a man from the rain-swollen Los Angeles River on Monday afternoon.
Rescue crews were called around 2:13 p.m. to the river’s Sepulveda Basin, where they saw a woman in the water with her dog, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters began rescue operations with the water moving at an estimated 5 to 10 mph.
Crews used a rope system to lower a firefighter to the woman and her dog, firefighters said. They got a rescue ring to the woman, but she abandoned the device as she tried to keep hold of her dog.
Firefighters were eventually able to lower a rescuer from a helicopter who secured the woman, authorities said. Crews also tracked her dog about 200 feet downriver and continued efforts to save the frightened canine.
The storm could drop up to 4 inches of rain in mountain areas and 2 inches in the valleys and along the coasts. Eighteen inches of snow may fall above 6,000 feet.
The dog, however, fought a rescuer and broke loose, firefighters said.
At one point, a man jumped into the water to try to save the dog, and crews had to launch a second human rescue operation, firefighters said.
The man grabbed on to a rope that other bystanders had lowered into the river, authorities said. He was eventually secured by firefighters, who warned bystanders to stay out of the river.
A vigorous storm system moved into the Southland on Monday, offering much-needed rain and high-elevation snow to the drought-stricken region — along with the threat of lightning, flash floods, road hazards and small hail.
Crews were able to secure the dog shortly after 4 p.m., firefighters said.
The man who jumped into the water to try to save the dog was transported to a hospital with bite wounds, firefighters said. The woman didn’t require medical transport.
It was not clear how the woman and her dog initially ended up in the river.
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