Dramatic moment when a man is rescued from the raging Los Angeles river by lifeguards
A heroic helicopter rescue of a man desperately clinging to a wall after being swept away by the raging Los Angeles River has emerged as the state battled severe storm conditions.
Poignant footage shows a lifeguard dangling over the rain-swollen river south of Washington Boulevard in the Boyle Heights neighborhood before carrying the man to safety.
Los Angeles Fire Department air and ground crews responded around 5 p.m. Wednesday when the man, who has yet to be identified, clung for dear life to a “concrete wall.”
After the man was hoisted to safety, he was taken to the LAC+USC Medical Center to receive treatment for hypothermia. No other injuries were reported.
A heroic helicopter rescue of a man desperately clinging to a wall after being swept into the raging Los Angeles River has emerged as the state battled severe storm conditions.
The dramatic footage filmed by KTLA Sky5 It showed the man desperately trying to stay above churning muddy flood waters as an emergency crew member made several attempts to catch up with him.
Strong winds and unrelenting rain seemed to drown out the rescue mission before the rescuer managed to grab the drenched man.
After placing a harness around the man, the two were seen hoisted up to the station’s security presenters, noting his severely red hands and face as they hauled him into the helicopter.
It is not clear how the man got into the river or how long he spent in the icy waters before being rescued.
It comes as tens of thousands remain under evacuation orders while other Californians face power outages, mudslides and flooding from the brutal winter deluge.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called this extreme shift from drought and wildfires to flooding and snowstorms “weather whiplash” as he surveyed damage to an agricultural region on the state’s central coast Wednesday.
‘To look behind [at] The last few years in this state, it’s been from fire to ice, without a warm bath in between,” Newsom said.
‘If anyone has any doubts about Mother Nature and her fury; if anyone has any questions about what this is all about in terms of what’s happening to the climate and the changes we’re experiencing, come to California.’
Meanwhile, just days after Orange County officials declared a local state of emergency, residents of four residential structures in San Clemente were forced to evacuate after a hillside collapsed behind their properties. .
Orange County Fire Authority crews responded to the scene in Buena Vista after receiving a 911 call about the mudslide shortly after 8 a.m.
Poignant footage shows a lifeguard dangling over the rain-swollen river south of Washington Boulevard in the Boyle Heights neighborhood before carrying the man to safety.
After the man was hoisted to safety, he was taken to the LAC+USC Medical Center to receive treatment for hypothermia. No other injuries were reported
Upon arrival, firefighters searched all three properties to ensure all residents were out of the buildings.
Drone images taken after the evacuation showed the ground beneath the properties collapsed and slid down the hill.
A swimming pool to the rear of one of the properties can also be seen precariously near the edge of the collapsing hillside.
Clayton Robinson spoke with KTLA 5. He is the owner of the multi-unit apartment building that appeared to sustain the most damage.
‘We had a major retaining wall, it collapsed and took about half of our yard, and we have a swimming pool. It is the pool that holds back the rest of the yard and the fire department is currently draining the pool to absorb the pressure from the hill,” he said.
Robinson also told the outlet that they may lose everything and that their insurance company said it doesn’t cover the collapsing hillside.
“So all we have left is our faith in God, so we’re fine, but it’s because of our faith, not our house,” Robinson said.
The mayor of San Clemente, who was at the scene, said the landslides have been a problem for all of the city’s coastal areas.
“Well, I mean, the erosion along our coastline is really something that affects the entire San Clemente coastline,” said Mayor Chris Duncan.
Residents of four residential structures in San Clemente were forced to evacuate after a hillside collapsed behind their properties.
Drone images taken after the evacuation showed the ground beneath the properties collapsed and slid down the hill.
The mayor of San Clemente, who was on the scene, said the landslides have been a problem for all of the city’s coastal areas.
‘In the Cypress Shore community on the south side of town, we had slope failure there, which has been stabilized by a tie-down system and we’ve seen no movement there.
“But along this stretch here, right along our beautiful beach trail here in San Clemente, if you walk down that trail, you can see that there have been losses on these slopes over time, so we’re concerned about all the way.”
No injuries were reported from the incident.
The National Weather Service recorded just under two feet of rain in downtown Los Angeles in 2023, making this year so far the 14th wettest in more than 140 years.
Heading into the weekend, the weather service has predicted minor rainfall in California, followed by more significant storms next week.