Woman Rescued From 25-Foot Deep Hole After Torrential IE Rainstorm

FONTANA, CA —A Fontana woman stepped off her porch and into what was thought was a sinkhole Thursday morning, where she was trapped for several hours, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.

It took firefighters about two hours to determine a safe method to free her from the hole that was later determined to be an old concrete septic tank, estimated about a meter wide and 25 feet deep.

Shortly before noon, one rescuer was lowered on a pulley system and helped to free her from the depths. They placed a helmet on her head to protect her from falling debris. Medics evaluated her and then took her by ambulance to a local hospital for further treatment, according to a department spokesperson.

The woman's identity has been withheld, but she suffered non-life-threatening injuries to her legs from the fall.

Just before 10 a.m., a 911 call came into the San Bernardino County Fire Department, saying a woman had fallen into a hole between two trailers at a trailer park and was calling for help.

Firefighters arrived in the 8200 block of Cherry Avenue in Fontana and confirmed there was a person trapped in the deep hole, SB County Fire Department spokesperson Eric Sherwin said. The next 90 minutes were spent forming a plan for the small space rescue. Ultimately, firefighters attached a rope to the back of a battalion chief’s SUV and used that to lower a rescue firefighter in after the woman, according to Sherwin.

The woman told firefighters that "the ground beneath her feet had suddenly collapsed while she was walking in her yard," Battalion Chief Mike McClintock said.

For as yet unknown reasons, the old septic tank crumbled underneath backyard concrete pavers situated between two trailers at the Hacienda Trailer Park, leading to the woman's perilous fall. Though record rain could have been a contributing factor, it was not yet known for certain.

After rescue, the scene was turned over to the State Housing Board, the agency responsible for mobile home parks, for investigation & mitigation of the septic tank access, McClintock said.

No evacuations were required, and the occupants are expected to be able to return home this evening.

True sinkholes are rare, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

According to the USGS, a sinkhole can appear after a period of rain in an area of ground that has "no natural external surface drainage," and the ground below the land can no longer support the surface. "Sinkholes rarely happen, but when they strike, tragedy can occur."