Crews are reminding people to have a life-saving device handy in case of an emergency out on the ocean after a kite surfer needed rescuing over the weekend.
At about 1 p.m. on Sunday, the Santa Barbara City Fire Department received reports from people near the Arroyo Burro Beach and Douglas Family Preserve of a kite surfer in distress.
Multiple engines from the Santa Barbara City Fire Department responded as well as Harbor Patrol's Boat 2.
The first crew to arrive on scene found a kite surfer down in the water just east of Arroyo Burro Beach.
A rescue swimmer from the fire department paddled to the victim who was about a half mile off shore from the Douglas Family Preserve, according to officials.
From there, crews aboard Harbor Patrol Boat 2 threw a rescue line to the surfer and pulled the man and kite onto the boat.
The kite surfer, a man in his 50's, was uninjured, but said he was "cold and exhausted" after being in the water for about an hour, according to authorities.
Fire officials said the man was transported back to the launch ramp in the harbor to be evaluated by medics, but declined a transport to the hospital.
Instead, emergency crews took the man back to his vehicle which was parked at Arroyo Burro Beach.
