First responders rescued eight people who were trapped inside a cave at a Santa Cruz County beach Sunday evening as the tide was rising, and some were unable to swim.

Responders from several agencies were called around 8 pm Sunday to Panther State Beach in northern Santa Cruz County to assist a group of people trapped inside a cave, according to a social media post by Cal Fire.

The tide had begun rising as the sun went down, and several people in the group reportedly did not know how to swim. The two routes for escaping the cave reportedly involved swimming to a nearby beach and exiting through some bluffs or via a pocket beach with a trail that was too steep.  

Once responders arrived, five people managed to wade to safety with help from lifeguards. The three who couldn’t swim were hoisted up a cliff by a US Coast Guard rescue helicopter. KSBW reports that a pregnant woman who had unspecified injuries was among the people rescued.

The initial 911 call reported that 11 people were trapped in the cave, but it’s unclear whether the number was inaccurate or if some people escaped prior to rescuers’ arrival.

Cal Fire advises to always check the tide before heading to the coast, as water levels can change drastically within hours, cutting off access points.

The agency also says stranded beachgoers should move to the highest safety point and call 911 immediately rather than trying to swim through heavy surf or climb dangerous cliffs.

Related: Man Rescued From Cliffside By Helicopter Near Marin Headlands

Image: John M/Yelp

Nearby kayakers and a boat emblazoned with the Ghostbusters logo came to the aid of three people whose kayaks overturned while they were watching the Giants-Dodgers game Saturday. The Giants lost the game, 13-7.

As KRON4 reports, the kayakers fell overboard around 8:30 pm and were quickly rescued by nearby kayakers and a private boat prior to the San Francisco Fire Department’s arrival on the scene.

As Bay City News reports, the three were evaluated at the scene by EMS who determined they were in good condition. They all refused medical care, per Bay City News.

SFPD reminds folks to wear life jackets on the water, per KRON4.

Image: San Francisco Fire Department

A mother and son who had set out to attend a Boy Scouts camp in Calaveras County got quickly lost thanks to a questionable GPS unit, and then got stuck on a remote logging road deep in the Sierra woods with no cell signal.

The 49-year-old mother and her 9-year-old son left the Sacramento area Friday headed for Camp Wolfeboro, a picturesque campground owned by the Boy Scouts of America located near Highway 4 in Calaveras County. According to the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office, the mother was utilizing "a GPS unit that supplemented common routes with additional remote roads," which led her onto "a complex network of interconnecting, labyrinth-like roads" through the woods, where they promptly got lost.

As ABC 7 reports, via sheriff's office spokesperson Lt. Greg Stark, the mother and son "got stuck about 10 miles from the nearest paved road" and lost their GPS and cell signal.

When they did not show up as expected at the scout camp, a search effort was launched, and they were thankfully found by Saturday evening. A last location shared via a location-sharing app — probably "Find My" — also aided in the search.

The mother left a handwritten note, weighted down by rocks, by one of the larger roads a couple miles away from their car saying, "HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911. We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!"

Rescuers say they found a second note up the road, and then found the mother and son about a mile further than that.

The son, being a Boy Scout, had tried several methods for getting them found, including using a whistle to blow three short bursts at a time, which is an international distress signal. They had also reportedly left their hazard lights on overnight as they slept in the car.

Luckily they had a cooler full of a food supplies, which they were taking camping with them.

Once found, the search team used vehicle recovery equipment to free the mother's vehicle from where it became stuck.

"They did everything right," Stark tells ABC 7. "They put themselves in the best position to be found."

Just to give a sense of the remoteness of the location, search and rescue personnel were not even able to communicate that they had located the pair using conventional radio signals, "due to the isolated location, which included dense forest and canopy," the sheriff's office said.

"They utilized an amateur radio frequency, commonly known as HAM radio, to establish communication. After broadcasting 'emergency traffic' on the HAM radio, their call was immediately answered by a retired El Dorado County Communications Supervisor who was a HAM Operator monitoring frequencies from his home," the sheriff's office said.

A man accompanied by one or two dogs at Ocean Beach died Thursday after trying to rescue one of the dogs from the surf, though it's not clear whether rough waters had anything to do with his injuries.

A man was seen running fully clothed into the water at Ocean Beach near Lawton Street Thursday afternoon around 2 pm. According to the San Francisco Fire Department, "911 Callers reported a fully clothed adult male entered the surf line to rescue a dog and, for an unknown reason, collapsed."

Two women who were on the beach, who called 911, reportedly rescued the man from the surfline, pulling him to shore, and emergency responders performed life-saving measures when they arrived, but the man succumbed to his injuries.

The dog that the man was trying to rescue reportedly made it out of the water and was uninjured.

As KTVU reports, a video from a witness showed two dogs unleashed and wandering around the scene while the man was receiving CPR from first responders.

The victim has not been publicly identified.

The SFFD advises people to stay out of the water at Ocean Beach because of the potential for rip currents and sneaker waves, especially at times of high surf.

"Call 911, don’t go in the water after a dog, don’t go in the water after a person, call 911," says Sukai Curtis-Contreras, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department.

Photo by Casey Horner

It's been a busy couple of days for the SFPD and Fire Department’s marine units, as two people fell into the water at Pier 32 Saturday and only one of them has been found, and then on Monday, crews had to rescue a surfer in distress near Fort Point.

Crews for the SFPD and SFFD are still working on a rescue mission from Saturday, and they were confronted with another need for a rescue Monday morning. Bay City News reports that one person was rescued but another is still missing after those two individuals fell into the Bay between Piers 28 and 32 on Saturday. Meanwhile, KPIX has the story of a surfer in distress who had to be rescued Monday morning when their surfboard was smashed by waves.

The incident where two people fell into the bay happened just before 10:20 am Saturday morning. Though as seen above, that rescue attempt went well into Saturday night. One person, reportedly a woman, was rescued pretty quickly and hospitalized. But the other male was not found, and the search continued with “boats, thermal imaging cameras, drones, and powerful flood lights,” according to the Fire Department.

That search was called off at round 11:20 pm Saturday night because of lighting and weather conditions. The search resumed a little before 6 am Sunday morning, but was temporarily suspended again around noon Sunday. According to Bay City News, “No further information about this rescue operation is being released at this time.”

More mayhem came Monday morning, when both departments’ boats were called in on a  report that a surfer was in distress off Fort Point. That surfer’s board had apparently been busted up by the waves (as seen below), and the rescue call came in just before 11 am Monday.

The surfer was helped back to the shore thanks to department rescue boats, watercraft, and shore-deployed swimmers. The surfer did not need medical attention.

Related: Dramatic Video Shows Oakland Police Rescue Drowning Man From Lake Merritt Channel [SFist]

Image: @SFFDPIO via Twitter

Bodycam video from the Oakland Police Department shows a high-stakes drowning situation near the Lake Merritt Channel, but officers were able to rescue a man by jumping into the water themselves to pull him ashore.

The Oakland Police Department held a press conference Sunday regarding a recent incident where a team of officers saved a drowning man in the waters of the Lake Merritt Channel, according to KTVU.

The incident apparently happened last Sunday, September 29, just before 12:30 am, on the 300 block of East 8th Street, and an OPD officer’s body cam recording of the entire incident can be seen in the Facebook video below.

When the video begins, the man in the water has been lowered some rope, which he’s been able to grab onto, and officers are trying to pull him up the railing of a cement wall. But the man loses his grip of the rope. One officer immediately rips off his shirt and jumps into the water, and a second officer goes in as well. Once they have pulled him close to the shore, two other officers wade in and pull the man safely to land.

The victim appears to be unconscious when pulled ashore, but still breathing. He’s then wheeled away on a stretcher.

"I was just thinking of ways of how we were going to get to him," OPD Officer Jessica Menezes said at a Sunday press conference. Menezes was the second officer to jump in the water, following Sergeant Frank Negrete.

"Failure was not an option for us that night," OPD Chief Floyd Mitchell said at the news conference. "These are the types of stories as chief of police that I just love to talk about, the hard work and dedication these officers have."

As of Monday morning, KTVU is reporting that the unidentified man remains hospitalized, and police have still not determined why he was in the channel in the first place.

Related: Sonoma Sheriff's Deputies Save Woman Drowning in Russian River, She Assaults Them Anyway [SFist]

Image: Oakland Police Department via Facebook

San Francisco Fire Department paramedics were called to Ocean Beach Friday morning after surfers pulled a paddle boarder out of the water who was floating and apparently unresponsive.

The incident happened around 10 am, near the intersection of Great Highway and Judah Street. SFFD Captain Jonathan Baxter says that SFFD Surf Rescue personnel arrived at the scene along with National Park Service Ocean Rescue personnel, and they observed CPR being performed on an adult male paddle boarder.

The man had been pulled to the beach from the surf line by other surfers, who saw that he failed to pop up after catching a wave.

The man was transported to UCSF Medical Center in critical condition.

As KTVU reports, the man has been identified as a local resident in his mid-60s and a "world class paddle boarder" who lives just a few blocks away, and whose father was also a well known ocean swimmer.

The man's current condition has not been publicizeed.

A man ended up trapped in a sewer pipe and calling for help Sunday, and San Francisco fire crews were successfully able to extricate him.

The incident happened at Ocean Beach Sunday, and the man had apparently crawled into one of the combined sewer-rainwater outlet pipes at the beach. As KTVU reports, the man became injured after entering the pipe and then could not get out.

A person had reported hearing a man calling out for help from beneath a manhole cover at Vicente Street and the Great Highway, around 3:40 am, which prompted the rescue effort.

Fire rescue crews used ropes and a rescue basket to lift the man out through the manhole, from about 20 feet below the roadway.

The SFFD documented the effort on video posted to X, and the man was brought to the surface as of 5:15 am.

Per KTVU, he remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

A seriously injured driver was rescued Sunday after his vehicle's crash-alert system notified authorities of the location of his car, which had gone off a cliff on the Sonoma County coast.

The crash happened around 8 am Sunday on Highway 1 north of Jenner, in the vicinity of Jewell Gulch. A California State Parks ranger spotted the crashed vehicle, which was around 200 feet below the roadway, and the ranger determined there was no occupant in the vehicle.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office posted video to Facebook of the rescue effort, which first involved lowering a paramedic down to the crash site from the sheriff's office's Henry-1 helicopter, with the aid of a tactical flight officer.

The rescue personnel could not immediately locate the driver, but after an hour of searching from the air, the tactical flight officer observed some disturbed earth where it appeared something or someone had slid down a ridge.

The officer and the paramedic were again lowered to the area, which was about 350 feet down the ravine from the car wreckage.

The male driver was reportedly critically injured, but was loaded onto a rescue device and then flown to a trauma hospital in the area.

The man is expected to survive, the sheriff's office confirms.

Related: Man Rescued After Driving Car Off Big Sur Cliff and Getting Stranded For Two Days

Two boats capsized in the Bay Area this weekend in separate incidents amid windy conditions, leading to 11 people requiring emergency rescue from cold waters.

The first capsize took place around 3 pm Saturday in Tomales Bay. As Marin County Fire reported on X, firefighters responded to the report of the capsize and found six adults and one child "clinging to an overturned boat."

All seven were rescued and treated for cold exposure, and four were released after warming measure. Three of the individuals were taken to a Marin County hospital for further treatment.

Marin County Fire thanked the National Park Service, CHP, Coast Guard, Sonoma County Fire, and the Marin County Sheriff's Department for their help in the operation, which employed three rescue watercrafts, two helicopters, and two water rescue boats, as well as two ambulances.

On Sunday morning, another capsize incident took place about three miles off of San Francisco's Ocean Beach.

The San Francisco Fire Department with help from the Coast Guard responded to the incident and pulled four individuals from the water. The capsize took place sometime before 10 am Sunday, and the SFFD posted on X about the successful rescue at 10:07 am.

The four individuals were reportedly transported for evalutation by Marin County EMS.

A teenager who has been missing since Thursday afternoon after being swept up by the rushing Russian River in Sonoma County has been found dead.

KTVU had the news that a swimmer disappeared in the Russian River after being swept away by strong currents Thursday afternoon. An early KPIX report suggested that the swimmer was “possibly only 10 years old,” but the Press Democrat has since confirmed that the missing boy was 15 years old.

As of Friday afternoon, we have word that the boy's body was recovered underwater in the river. The recovery happened around 10:30 am with the help of a remote-operated search device.

The teen was last seen swimming with another boy at 4:40 pm Thursday afternoon, and initially both youths disappeared in the current. The Sonoma County Fire District was called to the scene and quickly rescued one of them, an unnamed 14-year-old who was reportedly able to get out of the water on his own.

But the other swimmer was not located. The search was turned over to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, who employed boats, jet skis, divers, and drones. That search was suspended at about 9 pm Thursday night when darkness fell, but the efforts resumed early Friday morning.

The radio station KSRO reports the two boys were originally swept away at an area called at Steelhead Beach, north of Forestville in Sonoma County.

"We caution people this time of year to really watch the water,” Sonoma County battalion chief Shawn Johnson told KTVU. “The water is moving fast. It is still at a high level. If you are not an experienced swimmer, you should not swim in the Russian River at this time."

As the Press Democrat notes, Steelhead Beach remains closed indefinitely. Safety patrols on the river do not start until Memorial Day weekend.

Related: Sonoma Sheriff's Deputies Save Woman Drowning in Russian River, She Assaults Them Anyway [SFist]

Image: @sonomasheriff via Twitter

This story has been updated throughout.

A 34-year-old San Francisco man got a little off course at Lake Tahoe’s Kirkwood ski resort and ended up spending a night in the wilderness, but was eventually rescued by a cavalcade of search personnel and a CHP helicopter.

Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts, and the area’s regional rescue personnel, are already a little on edge in 2024 after an early January incident where one skier died in an avalanche and several others were left missing and had to be rescued. Another near-death incident is now coming to light, as KTVU reports that 34-year-old San Francisco man Mihayl “Mike” Petkov skied off the Kirkwood ski resort grounds into the backcountry, via the back side of the mountain. He was saved after a 24-hour-long rescue mission where Petkov had to endure an entire night outdoors lost in the wilderness.

The incident actually happened the night of February 10, according to a Facebook post from the Amador County Sheriff's Office. NBC Bay Area reported at the time that once Petkov realized he was lost, he “fell in deep powder and couldn't get his skis back on.” After trudging through heavy snows, he managed to text friends, who alerted rescue personnel.

But the Tahoe Daily Tribune added that Amador County Search and Rescue teams sent out snowmobiles and a snowcat, but the evening conditions were too dangerous to locate Petkov. A California Highway Patrol (CHP) helicopter was able to locate him that evening, but could not land because of the conditions, and Petkov had to survive the night in the cold.  

KTVU interviewed Petkov this week, asking what that ordeal was like.

"I was a little worried at first, like, what the night was going to be, because I had no idea how cold it was going to be," Petrov told the station. "At that point, I just had to make sure I was moving my toes every 10 minutes to make sure no blood loss happened, or they don't freeze."

By the morning, Kirkwood Ski Patrol joined the other emergency personnel, and the CHP copter was able to and and retrieve Petkov. And apparently, Kirkwoood comped him a hotel room to rest before heading home.

The Amador County Sheriff’s Office added in their statement, “If you are skiing at a resort, stay within the boundaries. If you are recreating in the backcountry do not go by yourself. Always be prepared for the worst. If you find yourself in a bad situation, rescuers might not be able to get to you right away.”

Related: Man Killed In Tahoe Avalanche Identified as Marin County Resident; Survivors Describe Scene [SFist]

Image: Amador County Sheriff's Office via Facebook

Amid reports of dangerous sneaker waves along the coast this weekend, at least seven people found themselves in dangerous situations in and around the SF Bay, including swept-away swimmers, a disabled sailboat, and a surfer in distress.

At Martin’s Beach on Half Moon Bay, rescue efforts have been underway for two swimmers who were apparently swept into the sea. Bystanders first reported that the pair missing around  2 p.m. Saturday, per KNTV. Authorities have already reportedly successfully rescued a 5-year-old girl, who was hospitalized, and are still searching for a 54-year-old man. (The relation between the two isn’t known.)

Cal Fire was involved in the rescue, and by nightfall, the Coast Guard reportedly joined and continued looking for the man via helicopter and with a rescue boat. On Sunday, the Coast Guard said it was continuing the search for the man with an air crew and a boat crew continue to search off the coast for the man.

In another maritime incident off the Golden Gate, a disabled sailboat with three occupants required assistance on Saturday afternoon, according to KTVU. A rescue boat and California Highway Patrol helicopter reportedly responded to the sailboat's distress call after it lost auxiliary power near Mile Rock. The vessel was towed to safety due to its anchor failing to hold in strong currents. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries.

Additionally, a surfer at Ocean Beach was successfully rescued after briefly going missing, as KTVU reported. San Francisco firefighters, the Coast Guard, and a CHP helicopter also collaborated in the search for the missing surfer, who was located around 2:30 p.m. The surfer was reportedly found to be in good condition, and recovery efforts were successful.

Another person was rescued from the water by Pier 39 by a commercial vehicle, SF Fire Department said on social media.

The identities of those involved in these incidents have not been disclosed yet.

This series of rescues occurred amidst a beach hazard advisory affecting several northern California beaches. The National Weather Service has warned of sneaker waves that can unexpectedly surge, posing dangers to beach-goers, pets, and surfers. The advisory urges people to avoid entering the water and stay away from jetties and rocks, starting Friday night and extending through Sunday morning. Additionally, a flood advisory is in place due to high tides.

RELATED: Post-Thanksgiving Weekend to Bring Chilly Temperatures, Sneaker Waves

Feature image via Unsplash/Nic Y-C.

Some sort of sidewalk collapse occurred Thursday morning over a utility trench near the Lower Haight neighborhood, trapping one person underground.

The San Francisco Fire Department undertook a rescue effort near the intersection of Divisadero and Oak streets Thursday morning. A collapse occurred just before 10:30 a.m., and the SFFD's public information officer, Captain Jonathan Baxter, tweeted that there was one person trapped under an estimated eight feet of dirt.

The nature of the trench or what kind of construction or other activity had been going on there is not clear. Firefighters were pictured in the area focused on the sidewalk and street just outside a garage, where they were digging to remove dirt. The garage can be seen below, between two Victorian buildings on the 1100 block of Oak Street.

Motorists are being told to avoid the area, and traffic is backing up on both Oak and Divisadero.

ABC 7 has live helicopter footage of the rescue effort.

Update: According to Captain Baxter, a "sidewalk collapse occurred during utility construction work."

Update 2: Baxter confirmed as of around 12:15 p.m. that rescuers had reached the trapped individual, and he was deceased. The operation then transitioned into a body-recovery effort.

The nature of the work that was being performed in the trench and by whom has not yet been reported.

A Sunday afternoon helicopter rescue on the waters of Tomales Bay has yielded some video from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, who lent the efforts of their helicopter known as Henry-1 to Marin County’s Fire Department to ensure four kayakers made it safely back to shore.

The majestic waters of the Pacific Ocean, and it’s beautiful Bay Area inlets and bays, make for incomparable scenery, but as we learn several times a year, their tides can also be deadly. And it nearly came to another grisly outcome on Sunday, as the Chronicle reports that four kayakers were nearly swept to sea sometime after 2:30 p.m., though were rescued when a helicopter from the neighboring Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office picked them up and flew then safely to land.  

The video above was posted to Facebook, and depicts the rescue, or rather the period just after the four kayakers had been pulled from their boats. (Two of the endangered kayakers were little boys!) The video, which all parties consented to being made public, is from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, taken on board their Bell 407GHP helicopter known as “Henry-1.”

Per the Chronicle, a bystander saw the kayaks encountering difficulty in the rough waters Sunday afternoon, and alerted the Marin County Fire Department. That department put in a mutual aid response to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, resulting in the all-ends-well rescue shown in the video.

As the Chronicle notes, “In the video, the two boys were smiling and seemed to be enjoying the helicopter ride more than the two adults.” That’s funny, but also consistent with rescues. “We often find that the kids are excited by the helicopter and being part of the rescue,” Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Misti Wood told the Chronicle.

Wood added that there is no charge to those who are rescued in these situations, and the the stranded kayaks were also recovered.

Related: Body Reported Floating in Waters Near Sutro Baths; Rescue Units, Firefighter Boats Deployed To Find Person [SFist]

Image: Oleg Alexandrov via Wikimedia Commons