LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Firefighters in California pulled cows and other farm animals from deep mud where they had become stuck after days of heavy rain, as a winter of wild weather continues to batter the state.
Footage filmed by local news crews showed the creatures chest deep, unable to move and clearly in some distress in Muscoy, around 80 kilometres from Los Angeles.
The area, along with large swathes of California, has been pummelled by weeks of near record-breaking rain that has left the ground sodden.
Video from San Bernardino County Fire Department showed rescuers wading through the mud and using a skid steer – a rigid sheet – to haul the creatures free.
Specialists were on hand to help deal with the 17 animals – horses, cows and bulls – during a five-hour operation, the department said on Twitter.
The rescue, on Wednesday, came as a rare tornado raked a city east of Los Angeles.
Video on social media showed the funnel of wind ripping off roofs and hurling debris into the air.
