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A man had to be rescued from a storm drain in Los Feliz yesterday, and he told rescuers that he'd been traveling via the drainage system for about 2 miles. On Thursday afternoon at about 1:40 p.m., firefighters responded to reports of noise coming from a storm drain near DeLongpre and Hyperion Ave., the Eastsider reports. There, they found a man was trapped in the storm drain. They dropped a rope about 30 feet down and helped the man pull himself out. According to LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey, the man was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
Humphrey said the man claimed to have traveled about two miles via the drainage system, beginning at Beverly Blvd. and Vermont Avenue. Though Humphrey couldn't confirm the man's story, he said it is possible that it's true. Los Angeles' storm drain network consists of narrow pipes and conduits that are eight feet tall. So, the average person could drop down a manhole or crawl into a curb and wander around.
As illustrated by yesterday's incident, that's probably not a great idea. Last fall, firefighters had to rescue two teenage boys who got trapped exploring storm drains in Ventura County. Plus, you never know what's down there.
