Spirit of Palm Springs Community Shines After the Storm: Rescue and Relief

On Saturday, roads and homes flooded in a matter of minutes. After the storm, Palm Springs community members shared their stories of rescue and relief. The fast-moving water created dangerous conditions for drivers. Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon saw it first hand during a per-scheduled police ride along. "The woman’s car: the water was half way up and it was rushing by in a torrent. She had a small 2-year-old child, a little boy, with a teddy bear," said Moon. Palm Springs Police and their Bearcat armored vehicle were there when duty called. "He was bridging between our S.W.A.T. vehicle and her car. And he took the child and brought him in, handed him to me. I put the child in the back then the police officer helped the woman through the window," said Moon. That is when the situation took a disastrous turn. "Just after that, the torrent increased even more, her car was pushed off the side and submerged and went down the wash. If our swat vehicle has not been there, right when it was, she very well, and her child could have been in very, very grave danger," said Moon." And while swift water ripped up roads above Safari Park, it was the outpouring of support that proved to be an answer to prayers after the down pour. "The lord sent them because I prayed. I said send me people, I need help and people strangers started coming," said Shyann Mills, whose mobile home was flooded on Saturday. Mills opened her door to KMIR News and viewers came knocking on the door to help. "The lady, Teri Woods, I don’t know her; she’s a school teacher. She saw me on the news and she said that lady needs help," said Mills. Crews across Palm Springs are hard at work clearing paths and clearing debris. While there is still work to be done, the spirit of the Palm Springs community is strong. "Texas and Florida, and I know this is really devastating, but there is so much worse," said Mills. "To me, I’m watching this police officer save two lives, a child and his mother and I thought this is like extraordinary but to them it was just they did it; that was their job," said Moon.