A second fatal rattlesnake bite on a Southern California hiking trail
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A Ventura County woman has become the second to die recently from a rattlesnake bite on a Southern California hiking trail during an unusually active period of snake attacks and unseasonably warm weather.The Ventura County Fire Department has received four reports of rattlesnake bites since March 14, according to department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.
In comparison, the county recorded nine total bites in 2025.The department responded to a call for a bite on a hiking trail at Wildwood Park just before noon on March 14.Paramedics took lifesaving measures and airlifted the patient to a local hospital for treatment.The woman who was bitten, later identified as 46-year-old Gabriela Bautista of Moorpark, died March 19 as a result of rattlesnake venom toxicity, according to the Ventura County medical examiner’s office.
The following day, the county Fire Department rescued a teenage girl from the Wendy Trail in Newbury Park after she suffered a rattlesnake bite.Firefighters hiked up to access the bite victim and used a special wheeled stretcher to bring her down and transport her to a hospital in stable condition, Dowd said.
California The Mojave rattlesnake, often called a ‘Mojave green,’ is known to inhabit areas of the Antelope Valley, which is part the Western Mojave Desert.The two other recent rattlesnake bites in Ventura County were reported in Thousand Oaks and in Meiners Oaks, Dowd said.On March 4, 25-year-old Julian Hernandez died in an Orange County hospital from a rattlesnake bite.
Hernandez was wounded on Feb.1 while hiking on Quail Hill in Irvine.
Rattlesnakes, which are typically most active in spring and summer, appear to have been drawn out earlier than usual this year as the Southland experiences the hottest March on record.The U.S.
Forest Service in San Bernardino issued a warning on Wednesday advising visitors of recent rattlesnake reports.“As temperatures...