SAN DIEGO — San Diego Fire-Rescue Department rescued 13 people trapped in swift stormwaters of the San Diego River amid Tropical Storm Hilary late Sunday night.
First responders were called around 8:42 p.m. to an area of Napa and Gaines Street bordering the San Diego River, with reports that possibly 15-20 people were trapped downstream on an island.
“It’s scary. It’s really scary,” said Christine Lani. She’s been living by the San Diego River for years and is used to rain, but what happened Sunday night caught her by surprise. “It just came out of nowhere in seconds. When I said I thought we should move because it looked like it would get worse, my husband went outside, and it was too late. He said it’s too late.”
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and San Diego Lifeguards responded to the scene and found dozens of people needing rescue and possibly medical attention.
First responders requested aerial support to assist with the rescue, but due to Tropical Storm Hilary, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Air Operations were suspended.
"We currently have a drone coming in because we can't fly our helicopters right now, so we have a drone coming in to do a heat search to make sure we have everyone out of this first section," said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Deputy Chief of Operations Dan Eddy.
The victims told firefighters they quickly became trapped as water levels became unbearable to cross.
Authorities were ultimately able to quickly and safely rescue all 13 victims.
More than 31 personnel were assigned to the rescue.
Tropical Storm Hilary moved through San Diego County on Sunday, August 21, dropping more than two inches of rain on the coast and seven inches in some mountain areas.
Hilary was downgraded as sustained winds around the eye of the storm weakened from 60 mph over Northern Baja to 50 mph over San Diego County.
No injuries were reported.
WATCH RELATED: Aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary