Firefighters rescued a dog from the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley Monday after it had been stranded for nearly two hours in the chilly water after a morning of rainfall.
Los Angeles Fire Department units set up multiple rescue points along the Los Angeles River after reports of a woman and her dog in the water near the Sepulveda Dam. The woman was rescued, but crews are still trying to rescue the dog as it drifted south in the river channel through the San Fernando Valley.
It was rescued around 4 p.m. in shallow water in Studio City.
The dramatic scene prompted lookiloos to come out and see the action from street overpasses. Initially, a Los Angeles Fire Department rescuer was lowered into the water from a helicopter, but the dog wiggled from the rescuer’s grasp.
Downstream in Studio City, a man jumped into the water and clutched on to the dog as they drifted down the river. He lost his grip on the dog as he was plucked from the water by an LAFD helicopter rescue team.
The dog did not appear to be in deep water as it walked with the current in a section of flood channel with high concrete walls. Firefighters said the water was moving at an estimated 5 to 10 mph.
The dog trotted down the river in ankle-deep water as lookiloos gathered to watch from overpasses.
One man ran alongside the riverpath, carrying a large tree branch, occasionally leaning over the side of the river and extending the branch down as if the dog could grab it and be rescued.
At one point, the man hoisted a leg over and a second man held onto him.
Rescuers in a dry spot in the river tried to make a rescue, but the dog reversed course.
It ended when rescuers corraled the dog in shallow water near the CBS Studios in Studio City.
It was not immediately clear whether the woman and man were injured. Details about how they ended up in the river were not immediately available.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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