Firefighters, aided by a helicopter, rescued about two dozen people trapped by rising waters along the rain-swollen Santa Ana River on Thursday as an intense storm moved through the Inland Empire.
Those rescued were from several homeless encampments along the riverbed as it courses by Riverside on its eastern bank and Jurupa Valley on the west.
No injuries were reported.
Not everyone wanted to leave, said Cal Fire/Riverside County Capt. Jason Wachter. He was a member of one of the two boat crews that rescued 14 people.
Some were plucked to safety by a Cal Fire helicopter, others were guided out with rope lines, and others managed to walk out on their own. Some of the stranded were huddled on spots of land that had become islands.