Pierce County crews rescue two people from White River

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — On Friday, rescue crews pulled two people to shore out of the White River after days of heavy rain.

“We train with neighboring departments often, so rescues like this happen seamlessly,” said a tweet from Central Pierce Fire and Rescue, who teamed up with East Pierce Fire and Orting Valley crews in the rescue.

It’s unclear how long the two people were stuck in the water and why the rescue was necessary.

“The water rescue is what shook me because that’s scary,” said Annika Figg, who works at a coffee shop across from the White River and saw the first responders arrive on scene.

The rescue occurred near the 8th Street bridge in Pacific just after 4 p.m.

Figg said water levels were higher than average after days of heavy rain in Pacific.

“Yesterday and this morning, it’s been a downpour all day,” Figg said. “The White River gets really bad. The rapids are really strong during the winter. So, it’s a huge hazard for people.”

Video from Chopper 7 shows the two people being taken to an ambulance for further evaluation.

Officials later tweeted out a ground video of the rescue saying,

“Our special operations team… got these two back to shore safely this afternoon.”

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