iStockphoto / trekandshoot
The Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles, California was shut down from the Palisades to Malibu on Thursday after mudslides blanketed the road rendering it unsafe for drivers. One member of the LAFD was captured on camera escaping from his SUV before he was nearly swept out to sea.
The harrowing incident was picked up by local Los Angeles news outlets and shows the vehicle engulfed in roaring waters from the Malibu mudslide after it was pushed off Big Rock Road. It was a tense moment but the LA firefighter was able to escape his cars and make it to safety while only suffering minor injuries according to LAFD fire captain Erik Scott.
The video, seen here on YouTube Shorts has gone viral on social media overnight:
On X (née Twitter), the aforementioned LAFD fire captain Erik Scott shared a message about the incident. He wrote “at 5:02 PM on February 13, a #LAFD member had his vehicle swept off the road and into the ocean by a large debris flow along Big Rock Road in #Malibu. Fortunately, the member was able to exit his vehicle and reach safety with minor injuries. He was transported to a local hospital as a precaution. We ask all residents to avoid driving during the peak of the storm and to exercise extreme caution.”
This area was recently decimated by the wildfires which brought global attention, particularly in the Pacific Palisades. The terrain was completely altered from the devastating wildfires and when torrential downpours hit Los Angeles this week a Flash Flood Warning was issued by the National Weather Service, stating there were high chances of mudslides, localized flash flooding, and rock slides.
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Additional footage from NBC 4 Los Angeles shows the LAFD’s SUV still trapped in the waters later in the evening:
The scope of the damage caused by the Malibu mudslides and flooding in the area is not yet clear. This was said to be the strongest storm of the year so far in Southern California and while the rain was badly needed the devastating mudlides in Malibu obviously were not, the area has gone through enough already.