{"id":203,"date":"2026-10-23T09:26:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T09:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/?p=203"},"modified":"2026-10-23T09:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T09:26:24","slug":"helicopter-rescues-pluck-three-from-raging-floodwaters-in-los-angeles-all-expected-to-survive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/?p=203","title":{"rendered":"Helicopter Rescues Pluck Three From Raging Floodwaters in Los Angeles \u2014 All Expected to Survive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Heavy rain turned a concrete drainage channel in Los Angeles&#x27; San Fernando Valley into a deadly torrent on Thursday morning, and three people had to be pulled from the rushing water by helicopter crews and firefighters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pacoima Wash in North Hills looked ordinary on a dry day. By Thursday morning, October 22, it was a raging river. Slick concrete, rising water, and a current strong enough to sweep people off their feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 9 A.M. Call<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Los Angeles Fire Department responded around 9 a.m. to 15012 W. Parthenia St., where multiple people were in trouble in the wash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first victim \u2014 a woman \u2014 was plucked from the rushing water by helicopter and taken to the hospital in stable condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second \u2014 a man \u2014 was hoisted out by helicopter as well, then flown directly to the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The third person had managed to cling to a bridge abutment near Saticoy Street. A ladder truck crew pulled that victim out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One Man Jumped In to Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was a fourth scare during the rescue. One man had jumped into the water to help the woman \u2014 and was overpowered by the current himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rescue teams got both of them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bystander reports of a possible fourth person in the water prompted an extensive search up and down the channel. When it was over, the LAFD concluded there were only three people in the water \u2014 not four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">All Expected to Survive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The names and medical conditions of the victims were not released. The exact reason they were in the wash remains unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But per FOX 11, all three are expected to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LAFD spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz confirmed the helicopter rescues, crediting the crews with pulling off the dramatic saves as the water kept rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Warning in the Concrete<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drainage channels like the Pacoima Wash are some of the most dangerous places in a storm. Concrete that feels like a sidewalk on a dry day becomes a slide in heavy rain \u2014 and once the water is moving, even strong swimmers can&#x27;t fight it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thursday morning, three people learned that the hard way. Thanks to helicopter crews, a ladder truck team, and one man who jumped in to help a stranger, all three made it out alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Reported from coverage by the New York Post, FOX 11 LA, and MyNewsLA, October 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three people were pulled from the raging Pacoima Wash in North Hills by Los Angeles helicopter crews and firefighters after heavy rain turned it into a torrent. All three are expected to survive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todayusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}