O.C. rescue team extricates man from Costa Mesa storm channel as rains continue
An Orange County Fire Authority swift water rescue team responded Thursday to a flood control channel in Costa Mesa, where an adult man trapped amid rushing stormwaters had to be extricated by boat.
Agency spokesman Capt. Thanh Nguyen said a call came in at 7 a.m. from a bystander who’d been in the area near Fairview Road and Sunflower Avene and heard the man calling for help.
“[He] was in the flood control channel under the roadway. He was trapped in there and yelling for help,” Nguyen said of the victim, whose identity is not being released to the public. “Fortunately, there was a passerby who heard the yells and called 911.”
A technical rescue team and a specially trained swift water rescue unit responded in a matter of minutes, with assistance from Costa Mesa fire and police crews as well as the Fountain Valley Fire Department, dropping a boat into surging waters to access the victim.
The man was safely brought to land, where he was assessed by paramedics and determined to be in stable condition before being transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation as a precaution, Nguyen said.
To accommodate an anticipated increase in calls for assistance due to continuing rainfall, county fire officials staffed up, adding two additional swift water rescue units to the usual rotation as the storms continue.
“They’re set up with boats already loaded up so they can go,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said crews were dispatched to two other rain-related incidents Thursday morning, including a rollover collision at the intersection of Crown Valley Parkway and Seven Seas Drive in Dana Point, where speed and low visibility may have been factors in the crash.
Thursday’s storm system is the first of two back-to-back, major atmospheric river storms state officials worry could be the start of an extended weather pattern across Southern California, according to the Los Angeles Times.
High surf was expected to bring waves up to 12 feet along the beaches of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, and rip currents will make any ocean activities dangerous, National Weather Service officials warned.
Nguyen warned those who may be driving to exercise caution and allow for additional travel time due to the possibility of weather-related delays. He also urged residents to stay away from bodies of water and measures to secure their homes from the risk of flood and encroaching water.
Elsewhere in Orange County Thursday, a segment of Pacific Coast Highway from Warner Avenue to Seapoint Street, particularly prone to flooding during significant rain events, was closed to traffic in both directions due to an accumulation of water on the roadway.
Meanwhile, crews with the Orange County Transportation Authority and Metrolink continued to work on the hillside above the city of San Clemente-owned Mariposa Pedestrian Bridge where a landslide and subsequent stabilization efforts caused a suspension of passenger rail service between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside stations.
County Supervisor Katrina Foley thanked the agencies for their continued effort to keep the hillside area stable and restore service as quickly as possible.
“With the anticipated heavy rains this weekend, I encourage residents and visitors to take precautions when traveling through the region as well as prepare to protect their properties from flooding,” Foley said in a statement Thursday.
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