Emergency Crews Rescue 46 People In 24 Hours In Mud-Bound Cathedral City

Dozens of people were rescued from mud-bound streets in a town outside of Palm Springs that was inundated after Tropical Storm Hilary dumped record rain in the region.

Crews made 46 rescues in about 24 hours in Cathedral City, about 6 miles from Palm Springs, which saw mud flows at the peak of the storm as high as 6 feet, according to the city’s fire chief, Michael Contreras. The city of Palm Springs fire department and Riverside County fire and sheriff’s department also pitched in to help with the rescues and flooding impacts.

Mark Chambers of Cathedral City tries to dig his car out of knee-deep mud.

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Erin Stone

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LAist

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Contreras said about half the rescues were people who got caught in their vehicles when floodwaters rapidly rose in streets. The rest were people who got stuck in their homes by the high mud flows.

“Everybody did their part. They stayed committed. They stayed focused, and now we have 46 people that aren't in peril anymore,” he said.

The aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary continues to disrupt life in the desert, which experienced some of the most significant flooding in Southern California.

In one of the most dramatic rescues in Cathedral City, crews used a massive wheel dozer to rescue 14 older residents from a mud-inundated board-and-care home.

Conventional rescue vehicles couldn’t drive through the high mud, so the residents, most with mobility challenges, were carried from their flooded homes in the huge bucket of a dozer. One woman rescued had mud all over her legs and bare feet as she was lifted into a stretcher and ambulance to be brought to safety and a health check.

There have been no fatalities reported, according to the fire department.

“Over the last 36 hours, the men and women of Cathedral City, they rose to the occasion,” Contreras said.