Two women and four dogs were pulled to safety Sunday after floodwaters transformed their Southern California homeless encampment into an isolated patch of land in the middle of a surging river.
The emergency unfolded near E Street along the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino, where fast-moving water surrounded the group and cut off their escape route.
San Bernardino County firefighters arrived at about 11:58 a.m. after receiving a report that the women and their pets were stranded, the department said.
Video released by San Bernardino County Fire shows swiftwater crews steering a small inflatable boat through the turbulent current toward the makeshift island.
As the river continued to rise, rescuers carefully brought the women aboard, equipped them with life jackets and began navigating back toward the riverbank.
The dogs required a separate approach. The small animals were placed in a mesh bag to keep them secure while firefighters carried them through the rushing water.
“The small dogs were a bit too excited for the adventure, so they were secured in a mesh bag for their trip to the shore,” the fire department wrote in a Facebook post accompanying the rescue video.
The footage captures firefighters paddling the boat toward dry ground with the women and their pets, bringing the tense operation to a successful end.
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“All were safely returned, and no injuries were reported,” officials said.
The rescue came as Tropical Storm Rachel swept across Southern California, bringing destructive winds, enormous coastal waves and widespread flooding concerns.
In Long Beach, powerful surf ripped through portions of a waterfront boardwalk that is more than a century old, tearing away wooden sections as seawater slammed into the structure.
Video showed wave after wave battering the walkway while officials worked to shield vulnerable areas before Saturday night’s high tide.
By Saturday evening, authorities had closed the damaged boardwalk and posted “No trespassing” signs to prevent people from entering the hazardous area.
The storm also rendered eight homes unsafe. At one waterfront property, video showed a large crack extending from the foundation to the roof, underscoring the severity of the structural damage.
Together, the scenes illustrated the storm’s broad impact, with damage reported along the coast and floodwaters swelling inland waterways.
For the two women and their four dogs in San Bernardino, the dangerous encounter ended safely. Firefighters who ventured into the swift current brought the entire group back to solid ground without injury.
