Watch: Dog, owner rescued from flooded Los Angeles River
By Kelli Dugan, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
LOS ANGELES — It took nearly two hours, but firefighters were able to rescue a dog swept away Monday afternoon by the Los Angeles River’s strong currents after a late-season storm pummeled the Sherman Oaks area.
Emergency crews responded to a distress call just after 2 p.m. and were able to get a rescue ring to a woman who refused the lifeline for fear of losing hold of her dog, KABC-TV reported.
The crew aboard a Los Angeles Fire Department helicopter then lowered a rescuer, secured the 35-year-old woman and then tracked the large dog downriver, KTLA reported.
According to The Associated Press, the frightened dog slipped away from rescuers and continued moving downriver for more than an hour, in an area that runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls.
The river’s currents were estimated to be moving between five and 10 mph, the LAFD confirmed.
A bystander then jumped in to save the dog, but both were swept farther downstream, and another rescuer was lowered into the water to retrieve the good Samaritan. Rescuers finally caught up to the waterlogged pooch just after 4 p.m. and managed to rope him to safety, KTLA reported.
Although the dog’s owner did not require medical treatment, the 28-year-old bystander who attempted to save the dog was transported to an area hospital with dog bite wounds, KABC-TV reported.
California storms Bianca Kulback, 57, walks over sandbags stacked around her home during a rain storm in Silverado Canyon, Calif., Monday, March 28, 2022. A vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through California on Monday, bringing flood worries as rain fell across wildfire burn scars. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong/AP)
California storms A Los Angeles Fire Department Swift Rescue team walk off after pulling a dog from the LA river in the Studio City section of Los Angeles on Monday, March 28, 2022. Two people and a dog were rescued from a rain-swollen Southern California river Monday as a vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through the state, bringing heavy showers and snow. A helicopter rescue crew pulled the dog's owner, a woman, from the rushing Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley, around 2:40 p.m. But the dog slipped away and continued for more than an hour down the river, which runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls for several miles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
California storms A resident stands in the flooded road during a rain storm in Silverado Canyon, Calif., Monday, March 28, 2022. A vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through California on Monday, bringing flood worries as rain fell across wildfire burn scars. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong/AP)
California storms A dog looks up at a high wall trying to get out of the the Los Angeles River as a Los Angeles Fire Department Swift Rescue team tries to rescue him in the Studio City section of Los Angeles on Monday, March 28, 2022. Two people and a dog were rescued from a rain-swollen Southern California river Monday as a vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through the state, bringing heavy showers and snow. A helicopter rescue crew pulled the dog's owner, a woman, from the rushing Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley, around 2:40 p.m. But the dog slipped away and continued for more than an hour down the river, which runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls for several miles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
California storms A dog toys to avoid a Los Angeles Fire Department rescue crew from the LA river in the Studio City section of Los Angeles on Monday, March 28, 2022. Two people and a dog were rescued from a rain-swollen Southern California river Monday as a vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through the state, bringing heavy showers and snow. A helicopter rescue crew pulled the dog's owner, a woman, from the rushing Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley, around 2:40 p.m. But the dog slipped away and continued for more than an hour down the river, which runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls for several miles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
California storms An Los Angeles Fire Department Swift Rescue crew pulls a dog from the LA river in the Studio City section of Los Angeles on Monday, March 28, 2022. Two people and a dog were rescued from a rain-swollen Southern California river Monday as a vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through the state, bringing heavy showers and snow. A helicopter rescue crew pulled the dog's owner, a woman, from the rushing Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley, around 2:40 p.m. But the dog slipped away and continued for more than an hour down the river, which runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls for several miles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
California storms People watch from a bridge as a Los Angeles Fire Department rescue crew try to rescue a dog from the LA river in the Studio City section of Los Angeles on Monday, March 28, 2022. Two people and a dog were rescued from a rain-swollen Southern California river Monday as a vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through the state, bringing heavy showers and snow. A helicopter rescue crew pulled the dog's owner, a woman, from the rushing Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley, around 2:40 p.m. But the dog slipped away and continued for more than an hour down the river, which runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls for several miles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
California storms A Los Angeles Fire Department rescue crew pull a dog from the LA river in the Studio City section of Los Angeles on Monday, March 28, 2022. Two people and a dog were rescued from a rain-swollen Southern California river Monday as a vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through the state, bringing heavy showers and snow. A helicopter rescue crew pulled the dog's owner, a woman, from the rushing Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley, around 2:40 p.m. But the dog slipped away and continued for more than an hour down the river, which runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls for several miles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
California storms A Los Angeles Fire Department rescue crew pull a dog from the LA river in the Studio City section of Los Angeles on Monday, March 28, 2022. Two people and a dog were rescued from a rain-swollen Southern California river Monday as a vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through the state, bringing heavy showers and snow. A helicopter rescue crew pulled the dog's owner, a woman, from the rushing Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley, around 2:40 p.m. But the dog slipped away and continued for more than an hour down the river, which runs through an inaccessible channel with high concrete walls for several miles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
California storms Bianca Kulback, 57, walks across the flooded road near her home during a rain storm in Silverado Canyon, Calif., Monday, March 28, 2022. A vigorous late-season storm moved slowly through California on Monday, bringing flood worries as rain fell across wildfire burn scars. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong/AP)