Worker buried in trench in Los Feliz is freed after a sweltering six-hour rescue effort

A construction worker was freed from an 8-foot-deep trench in Los Feliz on Thursday after a nearly six-hour rescue operation amid dangerous heat, officials said.

Paramedics transported the man, who was in serious condition, to a regional trauma center. Two rescuers were treated for heat exhaustion, with one hospitalized, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

“The adult male construction worker has been skillfully removed from the unstable ... trench at a residential construction site,” the department said in a statement.

More than 80 firefighters worked on the rescue, along with a “complete medical team,” LAFD spokesperson Erik Scott told The Times. The team included two nurse practitioners and multiple paramedics. As rescuers labored, the heat soared; the temperature in Los Feliz on Thursday was forecast to hit 106 degrees.

The trapped man had been working on renovations in the backyard of a hillside home Thursday morning when the dirt gave way around him, burying him up to his chest, Scott said.

Firefighters responded to the home in the 2300 block of North Catalina Street, about a mile south of Griffith Observatory, shortly before 11 a.m. and found the worker trapped in the dirt-and-concrete trench.

They began carefully removing dirt using a vacuum and pneumatic knives, Scott said. Firefighters were also using hydraulic rams to ensure the 3-foot-wide and 8-foot-deep trench did not cave in further.

Scott described the rescue as “a very slow and strategic and surgical-like process.”

As rescuers worked, they strove to “reduce vibration and personnel close to the trench,” to avoid causing more dirt to cave in, he said.

As of 1:55 p.m., rescuers had removed dirt down to the trapped man’s thigh but needed to remove more before hoisting him out of the trench using a pulley system, Scott said.

The man was “alert and conscious” at that time, Scott said. Paramedics had managed to hook an IV to his free arm to administer appropriate medication, he said.

Along with the heat, Scott said, there were worries “about crush injuries to the victim.”

Southern California is experiencing a blistering heat wave that is expected to last through the weekend, bringing triple-digit temperatures to most of the region, including Los Feliz.