For my Stream of Consciousness Saturday post I decided to write about a local stream, the LA River. Our prompt today is to use the word “back” in our post.
The Army Corp of Engineers created a cement channel for much of the LA River. The process is called channelizing. This was meant to control flooding. What happens when we have a big rain is the river turns into a bullet train of water as it races through the channels like a gigantic water slide. Invariably some foolish, careless or uninformed people decide to go down to the river and are swept away. The LA Fire Department has a Swift Water Rescue Unit that will come to the rescue. People have died in past years despite desperate rescue attempts. Here is a story from the LA Times about the rescues from the recent storm which includes some video.
The Ventura County and LA Fire Departments, Police and Sheriffs Departments and the officials of other Southern California communities have been busy with a swift water rescue of 2 people, evacuating people from their homes and rescuing people trapped in their cars in mud slides along the Pacific Coast Highway.
In all these life threatening situations our Fire Departments, Police and Sheriff Departments really have our backs. We need to be aware of nature and potential threats in our environment and stay away from natural water channels, creeks and rivers during or after storms.
Video via news10d You Tube of Firefighters getting ready for rescue:
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 
It’s really easy to take those service men and women for granted, but I’m sure it’s very different when one of them is pulling your nearly-drowned carcass out of a river you should have known better than to jump in in the first place. Thanks for sharing this.
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You are welcome. It was on my mind with all the news about the rain storm here is Southern California.
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From my position as Charter Member of Misanthropes Anon., I’ll just point out that those people who dare the flash floods are doing what is referred to as natural selection. 😐 (It is a shame that anyone has to risk their lives to save those of people too stupid to live.) That’s my cheery holiday post of the day. 🙂
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I know some of them are pretty idiotic. Others are kids or homeless that don’t know any better. I was doing light research on this and the Swift Water Rescue got started after a teenage boy was drowned. It was sad because the rescuers were running from bridge to bridge over the river and he shot past them. I read that there is a film that is shown in LAUSD to the kids to educate them on not trying to go in the river during any storm.
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Yup, there are some that are innocent, for sure. The “natural selection” comes in for the thrill seekers and the idiots who think the warnings don’t apply to them (there I’m thinking of folks who think THEIR car will be able to ford the rushing, flooded creek…not necessarily in LA).
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I like your approach to the prompt, Deborah: there are so many safety and rescue workers who “have our backs.”
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Thanks Sandi. With all the storm news here it was on my mind.
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