Emergency crews were called to perform a swift water rescue on the Capilano River Wednesday evening, where a group of people were stranded near the Highway 1 overpass.
Sgt. Doug Trousdell with the North Vancouver RCMP said a group of three men and one woman were fishing in the river when they found themselves stranded amid worsening weather.
“And the water level came up fast enough that the people were not able to get back to shore, so they’re having to do the rescue from the bridge deck up above.”
Trousdell said District of North Vancouver (DNV) Firefighters were conducting a high rope rescue, with the assistance of the RCMP.
DNV Firefigthters said the call came in at about 6:30 p.m., and the entire rescue operation took about an hour to complete.
It said all of the stranded fishers were well prepared and dressed for the weather, and that the group was released after being checked out by paramedics.
The incident is a good reminder to people to keep away from waterways with stormy weather in the forecast, Trousdell added.
“The water level can change dramatically and it can be very dangerous,” he said.
“We strongly encourage people to stay clear of the rivers and the creeks when it is raining like this and to be very mindful of those warnings that are coming out from Environment Canada.”
The rescue comes as other areas of Metro Vancouver have been slammed by rain as people struggle to stay dry amid the second storm of the season.
Heavy flooding and downed trees were reported in areas of Vancouver and Burnaby, forcing the closure of some roadways and SkyTrain platforms.
And in Whistler, there was traffic chaos after the area saw 15 centimetres of snowfall on Wednesday, with another 10 centimetres in the forecast.
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