CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (CNS) — Fire crews rescued more than 40 people last night and Monday morning following severe flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary in Cathedral City.

"The men and women of the Cathedral City Fire Department amaze me each and every day. This is, for us, this is the fourth day we've been going, little sleep," Cathedral City Fire Department Chief Michael Contreras said Monday afternoon during a news conference. "They woke up, they came out here, they did whatever needed to be done, and I'm very proud of them. I'm very proud to be their fire chief."

What You Need To Know

  • Cathedral City Fire officials said that its fire crews rescued 46 people since Sunday night following severe flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary

  • The Cathedral City Fire crew began working Friday, helping residents with sandbags  

  • Some of the rescues include helping a mother and daughter who were trapped in their flooded home, and seven people who needed to be extracted from their vehicles that were trapped in standing water

  • No injuries were reported from those that were rescued

Fire crews began working on Friday, providing residents with sandbags. Contreras said the department provided about 25,000 sandbags.

A total of 46 rescues were made by Cathedral City fire crews since Sunday night, Contreras said.

About 11 p.m. Sunday, fire crews responded to a call about mud flow on Date Palm Drive, established a command and immediately requested swift rescue teams from the Palm Springs and Riverside County fire departments, according to the fire chief. Seven people were extracted from seven vehicles trapped in standing water and were taken to high ground.

He added that the rescue took about an hour and a half because fire crews had to be careful and make sure that no crew members got stuck in the mud that was up to the sides of the cars.

After that, fire crews took on two more rescues, including helping a mother and daughter who were scared and trapped their home, which had water and debris starting to go in through the sliding glass door, Contreras said. Fire crews then rescued four people from a rail train that had to stop due to debris flow on the tracks.

When the sun rose and crews drove around to see the effects of the storm, they noticed a neighborhood in the area with mud and water up to five feet deep, the fire chief said. As they tried to figure out how to mitigate the issue, a call came in about 14 elderly residents, six of them unable to walk, trapped in a boarding care home.

Through the help of community partners including the Riverside County Fire Department, which provided a bulldozer, and Burrtec, which provided an earthmover, the 14 individuals were rescued, Contreras said, adding that simultaneously, the department also had to work with a gas company to mitigate the potential for fire due to two active gas leaks.

What You Need To Know

"At the end of the day, it was (because of) one of the great big earthmovers that we were able to put the patients into the big scoop," Contreras said. "It's not something that I've ever done in my 34 years as a firefighter but disasters like this really cause us to have to look at those means of rescue that aren't in the book and that we don't do everyday."

After they were rescued from the home, caregivers moved the senior citizens to other facilities, according to Contreras.

Among all the rescues, Contreras said that only one person had a medical emergency and was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition. No injuries were reported.

The fire department is now in the recovery phase, in which they'll look at what the issue is and figure out the best solutions.