Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit team, Les Walker (right) and Donny Goetz (center), prepare to lower injured hiker down Tahquitz Rock. Photo by Chad Marler
Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit team, Les Walker (right) and Donny Goetz (center), prepare to lower injured hiker down Tahquitz Rock. Photo by Chad Marler
CalFire helicopter 301 attempts to lower a rescuer down to help hoist the patient out, but when winds picked up, they were forced to retreat. The injured climber had to be hiked out by ground crews. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
Approximately 50 personnel responded to reports of an injured climber on “Angel’s Fright” on Tahquitz Rock on Sunday, Sept. 23.
A man in his mid 50s climbing with his two sons at the iconic climbing destination fell about 15 to 20 feet and caught his foot on a rock edge in the fall. He sustained either a sprain or a break according to Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit volunteers on the scene.
Shifting winds made it impossible for a responding helicopter to lower a medic to the injured climber. As a result, the RMRU team consisting of Les Walker and Donny Goetz conducted a technical rescue of the injured man that required placing him in a litter and belaying him to a point where first responders could conduct medical evaluation and transport if needed.
The rescue concluded around 6 p.m. according to Walker when his team handed the subject over to waiting fire personnel. According to the CAL FIRE information sheet, the man refused medical treatment at the scene.
Agencies called out at about 12:30 p.m. included CAL FIRE, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Idyllwild Fire Protection District, Mercy Air Ambulance and the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit.
Personnel from CAL FIRE and Idyllwild Fire all pull out the binoculars to try to locate an injured climber on Angels Fright trail on Sunday afternoon. The climber, a male in his 50s, sustained moderate injuries to his lower extremities according to a Riverside County Fire press release. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
Emergency personnel from Idyllwild Fire, USFS and CalFire try to locate an injured climber on Sunday afternoon near Angels Fright trail. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
Riverside County Fire has a pow wow to make a plan of action to help rescue an injured climber on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
Bautista hand crews hiked in to help in the rescues efforts. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
The USFS Tahquitz crew were briefed on the situation before hiking in. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit sets up a base to handle radio communications with the volunteers on the trail. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit volunteers prepare to hike in to help rescue an injured hiker on Sunday afternoon at Humber Park. Photo by Jenny Kirchner
Idyllwild FireThe Idyllwild Fire Protection District responded to these calls from Monday to Sunday, Dec. 13 to 19. • Dec. 13 — EMS call, 8:23 a.m. Maranatha Dr.• Dec. 13 — EMS call, transport person, 10:25 a.m. Tollgate Rd.• Dec. 13 — Traffic crash with injuries, transport person, 5:22 p.m. Village Center Dr.• Dec. 14…
Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors will consider revisions to Ordinance 927.1, “Regulating Short Term Rentals” (STR). The proposed new Ordinance 927.2 is available on the Town Crier website at https://idyllwildtowncrier.com/2023/10/23/proposed-str-ordinance/. The Planning Commission approved major changes to the STR ordinance at its Aug. 23 meeting. Many of the changes involved enforcement…
Idyllwild Arts (IA) National Honor Society members are staging a fundraising drive, replete with performances by IA students, to obtain school supplies for an elementary school in Honduras. From noon to 3 p.m. on three consecutive Saturdays, Oct. 29, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, IA students will be in front of Mountain Harvest Market in Strawberry Creek Plaza to entertain and entreat. Part of the Honor Society’s mission is to perform service. The beneficiary of this year’s IA’s honor service project is a 630-student school in Punta Gorda, Honduras.
Update, Sunday June 10: The Creek Fire is now controlled. The area burned was limited to 76 acres. The Creek Fire, which started in east Hemet, near Indian Creek Road, burned about 76 acres Friday evening and night. The Fire is about 50 percent contained. No structures are threatened. Riverside County Fire Department estimates full…
Because of strong gusty winds and low humidity, Cal Fire has issued a Red Flag Warning until 9 p.m. tonight for parts of Northern and Southern California tonight, including the San Jacinto Mountains. A Red Flag Warning is issued for weather events which may result in extreme fire behavior that will occur within 24 hours.
According to California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Murawski, about 10 p.m. Saturday, driver Craig Savage, 36, of Idyllwild, and passengers Nathan De Jarnette, 22, of Idyllwild, Shaundra Sorrell, 21, of San Jacinto and Hailee Brooks, 23, of Idyllwild, were traveling on Saunders Meadow Road near Fairway Drive when Savage lost control of his 1993 Mazda Navajo, flipping it onto its roof and onto the hood of a parked Toyota pickup. Idyllwild Fire Department, Idyllwild Volunteer Fire Company 621, Idyllwild Garage and CHP all responded to the scene. Saunders Meadow was completely closed to traffic for about 90 minutes while the scene was cleared. All four occupants of the vehicle were uninjured and were not transported for medical treatment.
