A hiker who chased his dog down a steep hillside in the Lakeview Terrace area was stranded for about 90 minutes Thursday before an LA fire-rescue team brought him to safety.
Ivan Solis said he takes daily runs with his father and two dogs, yet this was the first time something like this had happened.
At about 12:30 p.m., the 19-year-old said his father tossed an object over an embankment and one of his dogs, Lola, chased after it. When Lola did not return, Solis tried to slide down the hillside.
His slide abruptly became a fall, leading him 100 feet down the hillside.
“I just went down really quick, just as fast as I can,” he said. “And once I got my dog, I was like [expletive] man, there’s no way out. I’m stuck here now.”
Thirty-five Los Angeles firefighters responded. Rescuers secured to harnesses reached Solis, who was clinging to the side of the cliff, and Lola at about 1 p.m. in the Lopez Canyon area, just north of the 210 Freeway near Van Nuys Boulevard.
The dog, who waited with the man on the side of the hill, was brought to safety at about 1:30 p.m. A firefighter secured to the hiker then negotiated difficult terrain, including loose rocks, to bring him down the hill.
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Solis suffered a banged up and bruised right thumb from the fall, while Lola was given a clean bill of health.
“These mountains, hiking trails,and the terrain up here is steep and unstable,” said Batt. Chief Rick Combs of the LA Fire Department. “Just make sure that you do your due diligence when hiking these trails – that you are aware of the surrounding threats and take those into consideration.”
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