RV falls into river. Valencia CA.

[garyb1st]

This is what can happen when a California river get's more rain in a few weeks than it normally get's in a year. In this case, more rain than it's gotten in the past two years.

 

[Knobs]

Reporter said that the owner of the motorhome in the video "was not able to pack up and move in time."

She said that was the 3rd RV to go into the river.

Pack up??? Really??

How about just MOVE!

 

[DonTom]

How about just MOVE!

Yeah, it's a motorhome. Could take all of two minutes to move away from the danger.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[SC5thWheeler]

Yeah I wondered the same thing when I saw this. If it was a question of losing everything, "packing up" would be an abbreviated precedure to say the least.

 

[Isaac-1]

It may not have been able to move under its own power, see the window air conditioner sticking out of the rear slide. Alternatively the owner may not have been there when things started getting bad.

 

[Rene T]

Anyone along that river bank should have had all the time in the world to move out. That banking probably started collapsing hours before it reached them. All the other ones should have moved also. I don’t feel one bit sorry for them. They could have brought in a 50/75 ton wrecker to yank them away from the edge . Maybe they wanted to collect from the insurance company.
. Come on people. Where’s the common sense.

 

[SC5thWheeler]

Anyone along that river bsnk should have had all the time in the world to move out. That banking probably started collapsing hours before it reached them. All the other ones should have moved also. I don’t feel one bit sorry for them. They could have brought on a 50 ton wrecker to yank them away from the edge . Maybe they wanted to collect from the insurance company

I hate to be cynical, but I had the same thought and noticed the window AC as well. Perhaps this was the accident he had been hoping for.

I suppose it's also possible that the fire dept and police prevented anyone from going in there after a certain point.

 

[Isaac-1]

I suspect access may have been a problem, there may have been road closures, etc.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Two of the 3 rigs washed into the river were 5th wheels. The collapse happened in the middle of the night and the occupants said they barely had time to gather their things and get out, never mind trying to hook up the trailer and move it.

 

[Skookum]

Generally I like to start with empathy rather than trying to armchair how people “should” have responded during a traumatic emergency or alleging insurance fraud. Where’s the common sense, folks?

Flash flooding and landslides happen suddenly.

I can’t imagine in a park where people are using window AC units that all the rigs are fully insured anyhow.

 

[Joezeppy]

Maybe they just like it extra chilly to sleep at night. They all look like pretty nice rigs to me. I love the Monday morning quarterbacking that takes place after an event like this.

 

[Mountain high]

Flash flooding and landslides happen suddenly.

I use to target practice near Valencia at what once was a lake behind the dam that took the lives of 431 people. It happens.

St. Francis Dam - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[garyb1st]

Not sure how quickly the ground was washed away but this picture may explain why the owner did not move the motorhome.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

Reporter said that the owner of the motorhome in the video "was not able to pack up and move in time."

She said that was the 3rd RV to go into the river.

Pack up??? Really??

How about just MOVE!

They said the MH was a permanent resident, maybe he had permanant attachments? Deck, skirting, etc?

 

[garyb1st]

If you look at the picture I posted, it appears the motorhome drove into the site. The road that he drove in on was washed away leaving him stranded. I'm not sure but it's possible the motorhome could not go forward to exit the slip.

 

[Tom]

We have a number of campgrounds in/around the CA Delta with "prime" sites considered to be ones overlooking the water. Our houses are even on levees next to water but, in our case, the levees are shored up by rock (I paid to have additional rock added behind our house several years ago).

The video reminded me of a time we camped overlooking a river in a different part of CA. I'd gone fishing in the river and looked up at our coach on the (higher) bank. Having the bank give way didn't occur to me. I'd waded out to an island and, suddenly without warning, the water level rose by several feet. It took me some time to find a safe way out of the water. I later learned that, when we checked in, we were not warned that they let water past a dam further upstream at the same time daily.

The power of water is scary.

 

[jymbee]

I love the Monday morning quarterbacking that takes place after an event like this.

 

[Knobs]

I would point out that the reporter said the motorhome owner did not have time to pack.

She did not say there was a tree in the way forward and the road behind had washed out or that he had permanent connections or that it wouldn't start or that the sheriff wouldn't let him access it or that he was away at work or...

Two RVs had already fallen into the river, and the most important thing is to PACK????

 

[tlmgcamp]

I can't see if the MH had a driver side door, not every A does. Without that quick escape route, the driver would be taking a much bigger risk when jumping in to try to drive it out

 

[mountaintraveler]

Reporters lie all the time, I wouldn't put my weight into "didn't have time to pack" wording.

Motorhome probably has insurance, they'll get paid for everything, may be it was a better quick decision than risking life trying to get it out, especially if the road was already blocked.