Hikers rescued during storm




Last weekend’s storm system led to dangerous conditions for four hikers and their rescuers in Malibu Creek State Park.

At around 6:45 p.m. Sat., March 1, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Malibu Search and Rescue Team received a call that four hikers were stranded in the park, on the other side of a rock pool area.

When rescuers arrived, they found that the water level of the rock pool was extremely high, and that the river was flowing quickly through rock formations.

Multiple agencies worked in conjunction for more than nine hours in an attempt to rescue the three men and one woman, ages 25 to 26, from Long Beach, who were stranded on a plateau in the middle of the rushing river.

The rescuers carried in hundreds of pounds of equipment, including ropes, hardware, victim packs, harnesses, swift-water equipment, night vision goggles and infrared devices. After hiking for hours, they crossed the river in boats in an attempt to reach the hikers, but the flood water was too high.

The hikers remained in texting contact with rescuers, who could initially see the hikers’ flashlight, but after a few hours, the flashlight died.

“After several days of torrential rains, we were shocked that anyone would have gone out hiking, let alone in an area with water rushing in excess of 20 mph and rapids similar to those found on the Colorado River,” said Malibu SAR Capt. David Katz.

Because of dense cloud cover, helicopters were not used until just after 2 a.m., when Ventura County Sheriff’s staff aboard a SAR helicopter spotted the stranded hikers.

The pilot contended with nearby cliffs while hovering for minutes at a time as rescuers pulled up each hiker.

The hikers were subsequently extracted, evaluated by medical personnel and released.



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