The Laguna Woods City Council recognized multiple emergency personnel and recounted a canyon rescue during its June 18 meeting, and council members and residents publicly thanked firefighters and Orange County emergency crews for lifesaving work.

In remarks relaying an incident, a speaker described responding to a canyon fire where a stalled enforcement patrol vehicle, rockfall and rapidly changing conditions required a rescue. The speaker credited "Mike" for entering a hazardous box canyon and helping rescue the patrol captain and others; Orange County Sheriff's Department air assets later extracted hikers and a cabin occupant. "If it wasn't for Mike... he put himself at really grave risk," the speaker said.

The council presented recognition and the mayor and council members expressed pride. The rescued firefighter himself thanked the council and described acting on training to coordinate communication and extraction.

Later in the meeting, a resident recounted administering CPR to her husband before EMS arrival and expressed gratitude to dispatchers and responding crews. "CPR is what saved me in addition to the work that you guys did," she told crews who had responded to the call.

City staff also shared Orange County Fire Authority performance metrics, noting the county’s 2024 return-of-spontaneous-circulation (ROSC) rate of 32 percent for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest — above the national average of about 26 percent. Staff said that in the most recent month OCFA’s dispatch averaged 482 incidents per day and dispatch response time averaged 0.5 minutes, faster than national standards.

Council members praised the agencies and urged continued support and recognition for emergency services. No formal fiscal actions were taken during the presentation; the council took a brief recess to photograph honorees.