Campers rescued after rain causes creek to overflow in Leo Carrillo State Park
MALIBU, Calif. - Crews rescued about 50 campers in Malibu as they became trapped by an overflowing creek near Leo Carrillo State Park Thursday morning, fire officials said.
Rescue crews were stationed in the middle of the campground in knee-deep water and used boats to navigate around the site to make sure everyone was accounted for.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said they responded to flooding in the area and rescued 50 people to safety, as well as 10 kids and about seven dogs.
"Through the campground runs two different channels. Over on the river right, it’s nice. It’s flowing across the bank across Mulholland Highway, but on the other side, it separates the campground. So, we do have people in high ground and safe in both locations but we would like to get them out of there," said Steve Cookus with LA County Fire.
"I knew it was raining so hard that [I knew] this was not good. So, I knew we were in trouble," camper Alison Siewert told FOX 11’s Hailey Winslow.
Another camper who traveled from Las Vegas said he would not have made the trip if he knew the severity of the weather conditions.
By 9 a.m., fire officials said all campers were accounted for.
Nearby, the northbound lanes of the Pacific Coast Highway were closed at Chautauqua Boulevard and the southbound lanes were closed at Temescal Canyon Road due to a downed tree that took down power lines.
Overnight, a powerful winter storm slammed California, bringing heavy downpours and snow to the mountain communities.
RELATED:
- Stormy weather returns to SoCal bringing rain, snow
- Grapevine closed in both directions due to wintry conditions
- Mandatory evacuations issued for Bond Fire burn scar area
- Rain triggers mudslide in Studio City
Several weather advisories were in effect across the Southland Thursday including a Flash Flood Watch.
The storm was forecast to taper off by Friday.
Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.
Tune in to FOX 11 Los Angeles for the latest Southern California news.