Firefighters rescue woman and her dog from Santa Ana River

Firefighters rescued a woman and her dog after they were swept away in the Santa Ana River on Monday evening, April 20.

A boxer had gone into the riverbed near 5th Street in Santa Ana during a walk, and the animal’s owner went into the water after it, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Thanh Nguyen said. Both were forced downstream.

Officials didn’t immediately say how deep the water was in the search and rescue area.

“Even a few inches in a body of water as large as the Santa Ana River can carry enough force to carry a person away,” Nguyen said.

Authorities were notified that someone had gone into the river at 8:10 p.m., Nguyen said. Multiple crews responded to different bridges along the river’s path, and the woman was spotted near McFadden Avenue, more than a mile away from where she and her pet had fallen.

A team of firefighters tethered to shore managed to safely remove she and her dog from the water by about 8:25 p.m. Neither were seriously injured or required medical attention, Nguyen said.