Hikers Reported Missing in Chantry Flats above Sierra Madre

L.A. County firefighters searched alongside members of the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team Monday for two hikers reported missing in the area near Chantry Flats above the City of Sierra Madre in the Angeles National Forest.

According to the county fire department, a non-English speaking caller reported that two missing hikers had encountered some sort of trouble at 2:06pm on Monday, Oct. 4.

Units responding from the county fire department were initially unable to search the area from the air, due to Monday's inclement weather.  Firefighters and the rescue team searched the immediate area around Chantry Flats for an hour before expanding to slightly more remote areas and then calling off the search completely.

"The fire units responded to the call and we couldn't find [the hikers] in the area where they were allegedly supposed to be," said Don Kumitomi of the L.A. County Fire Department's public information office.

After thoroughly searching the area, the search was called off completely on Monday afternoon, according to Kumitomi.

Fire officials downplayed a report that the hikers may have been caught in some sort of landslide caused by the rainy weather.

Rain fell on Sierra Madre for most of the day Monday, with precipitation at the Santa Anita Dam weather station totaling around one quarter inch as of 5:00pm Monday. The National Weather Service said that with rain likely to continue today and throughout the day Wednesday, residents below the recent burn areas of the Station Fire should stay monitor weather forecasts as rainfall totals could reach 1-2 inches in the mountain and rates could exceed one half inch per hour.

Representatives from the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team did not immediately return calls for comment.