RESCUE TEAMS SHARPEN AIR, WATER MANEUVERS.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

A teen-ager is swept in a fast-moving rush of water down a normally dry channel. A motorist stands atop his truck, trapped unexpectedly in fast-rising floodwaters.

El Nino storms have triggered a number of such dramas, and this week emergency workers are honing their skills to ensure safe responses from the air.

About 100 swift-water and urban search and rescue team members from throughout Southern California - representing fire, law enforcement, state and lifeguard agencies - have taken part in the daylong drills at Castaic.

Barry Sears of the Los Angeles Fire Department said he had been through countless training sessions in his 18 years as a firefighter, but the Aquatic Helicopter Rescue Workshop at Castaic Lake was probably the most helpful.

Sears, an instructor at the three-day workshop, said the training was to enable rescuers from emergency agencies all over the state to practice performing operations that involve the use of helicopters.

The workshop was also designed to provide urban search and rescue members with the guidelines and techniques developed by the governor's Office of Emergency Services' Swiftwater Flood Rescue Committee.

``We are here to augment and not replace local rescue workers,'' Sears emphasized. ``This group is specifically for water-related rescue and this workshop teaches the importance of helicopter assistance.''

Sears said an area of concern has always been what to do when helicopters are a part of a rescue.

``This is an opportunity to get familiar with helicopters because they are needed and these workers often perform their duties in a quiet, offshore atmosphere,'' Sears said. ``So this makes it a little different because rescue work with a helicopter involves a lot of other things.''

Stan Roberts, assistant chief of the OES, said rescue efforts in Los Angeles County typically are related to fire calls.

``But around the state, you get a mix of everything and this group can be called to any location in California at any time,'' Roberts said.

California has suffered record-setting floods in three out of the past four years and swift-water rescue teams have been called upon to save many people caught in treacherous floodwaters, often while numerous simultaneous life-endangering rescue missions were under way.

Responding to these missions frequently involves local, state and federal agency resources, Roberts said.

``This has resulted in an enhanced capability for responding to these types of emergencies for the agencies,'' he said.

Participating agencies have used this type of training to hone their skills and become proficient in working with helicopters during flood emergencies.

Officials said the training is essential for maintaining high-level rescuer confidence and skills in carrying out potentially dangerous and often life-threatening operations.

On Wednesday, rescue teams cross-trained, using multiple aircraft from the California Highway Patrol, county sheriff's departments and the National Guard.

Roberts said team members were also taught how to keep themselves safe during emergency operations and enhance their skills for performing successful life-saving operations.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color in SAC Edition only) Swift-water and urban search and rescue team members, among 100 from around the region participating Wednesday, practice helicopter rescues at Castaic Lake.

(2-3--Color in SAC Edition only) (Photo 3 ran in Simi and Conejo Editions only) Los Angeles city firefighter Jim Goldsworthy, above, gets a lift out of the water Wednesday during water rescue training at Castaic Lake. The daylong series of drills give members of numerous agencies experience with operations involving helicopters, right.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News