San Bernardino County residents rescued by helicopter after house floods during winter storm
A San Bernardino County resident is recounting the intense moments that he watched his neighbor get rescued from their home by helicopter when it was overcome with flooding waters during the recent winter storm.
It happened on Christmas Eve, when severe flooding rushed through Phelan. Neighbors watched as the rescue efforts got underway.
"I go, 'Oh, my God, this is... they're going to pull these people off the roof,'" said Robert Ralph, who recorded the rescue.
His cell phone video shows a San Bernardino County Fire Protection District helicopter lowering onto the roof of their next door neighbor's home after they got stranded on their roof by the flood.
"This was a river," Ralph recalled. "It was rapids on both sides of this home and the fire crew was over there. ... They just coulnd't get to him, except by a chopper."
Ralph's wife, Ramona, said that the water was coming through so quickly, crews had nowhere to go but up.
They say that the wash near the home crested due to the heavy downpour, which they said was the most intense rainstorm they've seen since moving to the area in 2021. Forecasters said that the uncharacteristic winter storm doused Southern California with several inches of rain.
"Their house is trashed, it's 100% unlivable," Ralph said. "It's red-tagged. Ours is yellow-tagged."
Larissa Jackson's father lives in the home that she says is now condemned.
"I feel for my father even more, because the home that he's known for over 20 years is no longer where he could call a home," Jackson said. "It's sad, it's heartbreaking."
She says that her father is still in the hospital recovering from injuries he sustained during the traumatic incident. A GoFundMe has been created to help them recover, which can be found by searching for the keywords: Support for Paul's Flood Recovery."
As for the Ralphs and their neighbors in Phelan, they're now getting ready to begin what they expect to be a long recovery process.
"Could have very easily been us up on a roof or worse," Ralph said. "I'm just glad that Paul and everybody made it out okay. That's all I really care about."
