A newborn child and parents as well as one of a trio with a dog were rescued Monday from the swiftly flowing Santa Ynez River as heavy rain pounded northern Santa Barbara County.
About 11:45 a.m., Lompoc Fire Department personnel were in the 2000 block of North H Street investigating black smoke seen earlier when they came upon a woman giving birth, assisted by her husband, surrounded by flowing water in the riverbed, a Lompoc Police Department spokesman said.
The woman delivered the child prematurely, and the Fire Department devised a plan to rescue the family, said Sgt. Jorge Magana.
Mother and child were taken to Lompoc Valley Medical Center, where they were admitted and reported in stable condition, Magana said.
However, due to the circumstances of potential child endangerment, the Police Department is investigating and Child Welfare Services has been notified, he said.
Then at 2 p.m., the Police Department dispatcher received a call from someone who reported hearing people yelling for help.
Officers met with the caller, who led them to the location where the yelling was heard, and police discovered three people and a dog trapped on an island in the midst of the rushing water about 40 yards from the west bank just east of Riverbend Park, Magana said.
Fire Department personnel who responded decided the rescue would require assistance from Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team, he said.
The team rescued one person, but the other two said they preferred to remain where they were.
Fire Department personnel notified County Animal Control and was awaiting the agency’s response at the time the report was released about 5:25 p.m.
County Fire personnel later had to rescue a person who tried to drive a vehicle across a creek in the 1000 block of Alisos Avenue in Santa Ynez and it was swept downstream.
The driver was not injured, a County Fire spokesman said.
