Friday the 13th was an unlucky July day for some hikers in the Angeles National Forest. Rescue teams raced to save 3 people who had either fallen off a cliff or were stranded on the side of the mountain all within 1 hour.
First, crews in Air Rescue 5, with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department rescued a Pasadena man who had fallen 80 feet to the bottom of Eaton Canyon in Altadena. The hiker received moderate trauma injuries and paramedics treated him on the scene before hoisting him into the aircraft. The sheriff’s department posted this video of the rescue.
After finishing up the 1st rescue the Air 5 team saw another hiker perched on the edge of a cliff about 150 feet above the canyon floor. Emergency crews say he was unable to move and was in a “dire situation.” They hoisted him up into the chopper also and flew the injured to a hospital. While at the hospital, the rescue team received yet another call about a hiker. This time they found a Moorpark man who had fallen more than 60 feet over the base of Hermit Falls, at the Chantry Flat Campground, north of Arcadia. Again a sheriff’s deputy paramedic from the Emergency Services Detail was lowered and treated the man’s injuries at the scene, before they hoisted him into the rescue chopper, and transported him to the hospital.
Authorities warn people to hike safely and not to hike beyond their abilities and equipment.