A harrowing rescue unfolded amid sweltering temperatures as first responders in Ventura County worked to free a man from 36-inch drainpipe Sunday. 

Details are limited and it’s unclear how the man wound up trapped in the drainage pipe, but in a post to X, formerly Twitter, officials with the Ventura County Fire Department said crews worked in collaboration with the Oxnard fire and police departments during the rescue.  

“Utilizing the latest in robot technology, the Oxnard Police Department pinpointed the victim’s location, allowing our Urban Seach and Rescue Teams to safely extricate the individual,” VCFD said.  

Video footage of the rescue operation shows about a dozen first responders inside a hole dug around the corrugated drainpipe, with the pieces of pipe cutaway lying on a nearby pile of dirt.  

The male victim can be seen sitting up in the pipe moments before he struggles to standup and climb out with the help of firefighters.  

It is unclear how long the man had been trapped in the drainpipe and how the emergency came to the attention of rescuers.  

First responders were able to get the victim onto a rescue litter and pull him to a waiting stretcher.  

The man was lifted into a waiting ambulance and rushed to a nearby hospital in stable condition for further evaluation, authorities said.  

A power outage at the Hollywood Bowl forced officials at the iconic venue to cancel Sunday night’s concert.  

Vance Joy, Grouplove and Tiny Habits were slated to perform this evening, according to The Bowl’s calendar.  

“If a new date for this performance can be confirmed, details will follow and tickets for the original date will be valid for the new performance date,” officials at the Hollywood Bowl said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.

“This is such a bummer,” Grouplove posted their Instagram stories. “We wish we could turn the lights on.”

Those with questions or interested in refunds or exchanges were encouraged to contact Audience Services at information@laphil.org.  

No information about what exactly caused the outage was provided. It is also unclear how long it will take to restore power to the iconic venue.

Investigators with the Culver City Police Department are looking into a string of online rental scams that occurred in the city for over a month. 

According to a CCPD press release issued Sunday morning, detectives were alerted of multiple reports of rental scams between July 4 and Aug. 27 of this year, many of which were “initiated on social media.” 

“In each instance, a victim responded to a Facebook ad for an apartment rental,” police stated. “They agreed to meet the ‘seller’ at a location in Culver City, where they would exchange cash and a rental agreement.” 

After this interaction, the victim would attempt to enter the rental unit, only to find that the keys did not open the door.  When the victim reached out to the suspect, they would no longer respond to messages, investigators said.

Authorities say suspects use multiple methods to dupe individuals into agreeing to a fake rental, including phantom listings of locations that don’t exist or are unavailable, fake virtual tours that may be pre-recorded and advertisement manipulation replicating genuine listings. 

To avoid becoming a victim of an online rental scam, CCPD recommended the following steps: 

• Verify contact details: Cross-check contact information in the listing with trustworthy sources 

• Avoid personal servers: Do not engage with anyone requesting the use of a personal server for communication 

• In-person inquiries: Ask questions about the property in person, rather than via email or online if possible 

• Be cautions with payment requests: A reputable landlord won’t ask for payment before meeting you face-to-face or showing you the property in person 

• Utilize professionals: If renting a property prior to seeing it, consider working with a licensed real estate broker or a trusted property management company 

• Research Listings: Repeat advertisements – the same listing under a different name – could indicate a potential scam 

Police released descriptions of three suspects, two women and a man. No description for one of the women was immediately available; however, one of the suspects was described as a 20- to 30-year-old Hispanic woman with a heavy build and red hair who was seen wearing a pink jacket with lettering and gray shorts. 

The third suspect was described by police as a Black man between the ages of 20 and 30. 

Anyone with information surrounding the online rental scams is asked to contact Culver City Police Department Public Information Officer Jennifer Atenza by calling 310-253-6120 or emailing jennifer.atenza@culvercity.org 

Individuals can also call the CCPD Watch Commander at 310-253-6202.