Driver plucked from flooded Highway 1 near Nipomo

A driver was rescued from his van after it became stuck in 3 feet of water on a flooded Highway 1 south of Nipomo on Friday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.

The call for a possible water rescue came into dispatchers about 3 p.m.; the van was reportedly stuck near Division Street between Nipomo and Guadalupe, said Cal Fire public information officer Chris Elms.

When emergency crews arrived, the driver was sitting on the roof of the van, Elms said.

A San Luis Obispo County Urban Search & Rescue team then arrived and determined the water was moving slow enough to allow rescuers to walk out to the van, Elms said.

Elms said the team attached a floatation device to the driver and helped him walk through the water to safety. The driver was not injured.

“It was fairly benign, but it could have been much worse,” Elms said.

The rescue was complete by about 4 p.m., he said.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Driver plucked from flooded Highway 1 near Nipomo."