Urgent search after hiker deep in Angeles National Forest is bitten by rattlesnake
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Set us as preferred Multiple rescue teams searched through dense greenery in the Bear Canyon area of the Angeles National Forest on Monday afternoon for a hiker whose exact location was unknown but who needed immediate assistance after being bitten by a rattlesnake.The rescue started with a text from a hiker, whose identity was not disclosed, to a family member detailing the bite and the need for support, according to the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Montrose Search and Rescue Team.Montrose Search and Rescue and the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team were alerted to the victim, who was in the Bear Canyon area but whose exact location was unknown, officials stated.
Hikers into the area often start at the Switzer picnic site in Altadena, which has a trailhead to the Bear Canyon hike-in campground five miles away, according to the U.S.Forest Service.
Rescuers searched for the snake-bite victim several ways.Members of Air Rescue 5 with the Sheriff’s Department searched for the him from the sky, Montrose Search and Rescue hiked into the canyon on the Switzer Falls Trail from the picnic site, and Altadena Mountain Rescue entered from the Tom Sloan Saddle area, a trail junction.
“Thick tree cover made it difficult for the helicopter crew to see through the canopy, adding another challenge to locating the victim,” officials stated in a post on Facebook.All three teams spotted the victim at nearly the same time and worked together to quickly assess the hiker, prepared him for transport and assisted Air Rescue 5 to hoist the individual into the air, authorities said.
The hiker was flown to a local hospital for medical care.No details were available Tuesday afternoon on his condition.Rattlesnake season is well underway in California, typically extending from April to October, and reports of rattlesnake bites are up this season.
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