PASO ROBLES, Calif. – Every second counts when a call comes in from someone trapped by rising water requesting help, and rescuers were in a race against time this week as a powerful atmospheric river storm slammed California with heavy rain that led to numerous reports of flooding, putting drivers in a perilous and potentially deadly situation.
The California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) air division shared dramatic video and photos on Facebook of first responders performing two separate rescues for drivers who became “trapped by rising water at two separate locations” on Monday.
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And what an eventful day it turned out to be.
According to the Facebook post, air operation units had been monitoring radio traffic regarding a car that had become trapped in the fast-moving water of the San Marcos River in San Luis Obispo County early Monday morning.
The helicopter was requested to the scene, and when it arrived, the unidentified driver had been rescued by the fire department.
After that, the helicopter began to patrol the Salinas River within the Paso Robles city limit and soon located two people who were trapped by rising water at two separate locations.
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As luck would have it, the Paso Robles City Fire Department (PRFD) was already in the area conducting water-rescue training with their boat.
Rescuers were able to direct the PRFD to their location, allowing the first responders to rescue one of them with the help of the boat.
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A Paso Robles City Fire Helicopter Rescue Technician (HRT) was then lowered to the second victim, who was hoisted to the river edge with a rescue net.
A third victim was then reported to be stranded north of the 13th Street Bridge on a dry island surrounded by water that was rapidly rising.
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The HRT member was then lowered to the victim, where a second hoist rescue was conducted with the rescue net.
All the victims were evaluated and appeared to be uninjured.