A search-and-rescue operation for graffiti-marred Eagle Rock landmark
The Los Angeles Fire Department’s search-and-rescue team carried off one of its most unusual operations to date Thursday, aiding not a person, but a rock -- Eagle Rock.
Crewmembers, attached to safety equipment by ropes and harnesses, removed graffiti from the rock that is named for the eagle shapes that look as though they were carved into the massive natural stone.
The formation, which overlooks the community of Eagle Rock, was marred over the winter by graffiti that was visible, like the rock itself, for some distance. The graffiti was dangerously inaccessible, scrawled in a 4-by-8-foot area under a ledge next to a 150-foot drop.
Authorities waited first to see if the winter rains would wash the vandalism away. It faded, but remained.
At that point, some creativity was called for.
“This is a cultural, historical monument, and we want to keep it as clean as possible,” said Rick Coca, a spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents the area.
An arrangement between the council office and the city fire department turned the graffiti removal project into a training exercise for the department’s search-and-rescue team.
