2 rescued from rain-swollen Santa Ana River in H.B.
Huntington Beach firefighters and marine safety officials rescued two people who were trapped in the Santa Ana River during heavy rainfall Tuesday.
Firefighters and paramedics responded to the river near Adams Avenue at 9:46 a.m. after receiving a report of several people caught in the water. Emergency workers saw three people make their way to the river bank, but two more were trapped in the center of the river, according to the Huntington Beach Fire Department.
“They were transients and had a camp set up and living underneath the bridge,” said Marine Safety Lt. Claude Panis, the first official at the scene. “We had the rain come and all of a sudden the water level went up and they weren’t able to get out.”
Parts of the river were about chest high and moving at 10 to 15 mph, Panis said.
Panis rode a paddleboard to the trapped people and helped them get to shallower water. Firefighters with a ladder truck hoisted the pair out of the water using a safety basket.
The two suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were released, Panis said.
— Anthony Clark Carpio
Twitter: @acocarpio
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