ConFire and Walnut Creek Police rescued a person from the flood control channel in Walnut Creek, just north of Lincoln Ave. around 6 p.m. on Saturday.
At least one witness reported seeing the individual “up in a tree” prior to falling into the water.
UPDATE: The person has been rescued. The person is currently alert and talking to paramedics.
UPDATE: This was actually the flood control channel, NOT the Contra Costa Canal. The story has been corrected.
One thing I learned about from watching someone that was in the Contra Costa Canal a few months ago is that the banks are too steep for the average person to be able to get themselves out. There are long stretches with no ladders. Related to this is that the ladders are not always on both sides. Someone in the canal wants to get out now where at as they have a semblance of a finger hold on the bank and not take their time going up or down stream to find a ladder.
FWIW, deer that I have seen in the canal also usually can’t get out without help. A deer is more willing than a person to go up and down the section of canal they are trapped in while looking for a way out. Unfortunately, they can’t use the style of metal rung ladders the water district uses.