Firefighters rescue 4 people from swift-moving Los Angeles River

ATWATER VILLAGE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Firefighters on Monday morning rescued four people from the Los Angeles River in Atwater Village amid heavy rain and swift currents.

The rescue operation began at about 2:42 a.m. about a 1/2 mile north of the Los Feliz Boulevard bridge, after the group became stranded on a small island in the river, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

More than 100 ground and air personnel responded to the scene, where two men and two women used flashlights to signal their location. Believed to be transients, they were helped into a raft and ferried across the river to safety.

The patients were then assessed by paramedics, who determined they were uninjured, the Fire Department said. They were transported to hospitals as a precautionary measure.

A Fire Department spokesman said park rangers often warn people of hazardous river conditions caused by major rainfall.

"It's recognized that people live in this area," said Capt. Daniel Curry, "and for whatever reason those people chose to ignore those warnings."

Monday's incident followed two similar rescues on Sunday, in South Gate and San Luis Obispo.

A helicopter team hoisted a man out of the L.A. River near the 710 Freeway at about 11:30 p.m. after he was found clinging to the side of a bridge.

Earlier in the day, a San Luis Obispo firefighter used a ladder to rescue a woman who was found unconscious in a flooded creek. The woman, who had been reported missing earlier in the week, was treated for hypothermia at a hospital.