Woman is bitten on the ankle by a rattlesnake, the seventh reported bite in Ventura County

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A rattlesnake nipped a woman on the ankle during a hike in Ventura County, marking the seventh reported snake bite in the county this year, officials say.The hiker was walking on Long Canyon Trail, a 2.35-mile-long route in the Wood Ranch neighborhood of Simi Valley, on Thursday afternoon.

Ventura County Fire Department officials received a 911 call at 2:40 p.m.reporting that a rattlesnake had bitten the woman on her ankle, said Andrew Dowd, a department spokesperson.Authorities have not released the hiker’s identity.

Firefighter paramedics were able to access and respond to the woman both on the ground and from the air.“Anytime we have a remote rescue, we also dispatch one of our rescue helicopters, staffed with paramedics and other crew chiefs to be able to perform a remote rescue, if necessary,” he said.

The woman sustained a minor injury from the bite, and paramedics took her to the hospital by helicopter, “given her location and the desire to get her to the hospital quickly,” Dowd said.She was in stable condition.The latest rattlesnake bite is the seventh reported in Ventura County over the course of about six weeks, Dowd said.

“Year-to-year comparison, we are definitely seeing more rattlesnake bites this year than we have in previous years,” he said.In 2025, the county reported a total of nine rattlesnake bites.Reports of bites have been on the rise across Central and Southern California since March, a month ahead of a typical rattlesnake season that occurs from April through October.

Unseasonably warm weather patterns at the start of the year signaled to the serpents that they could leave their winter retreats in search of food and mates.The odds of run-ins between outdoor enthusiasts and rattlesnakes have increased as people have hit the trails these last two months.

There were three snake-related fatalities between March and April.The fatal bites occu...