Latest / KMUD News / First Responders Kept Busy with Multiple Rescues Across Humboldt County
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker A: First responders were busy this weekend as multiple rescue calls came in across the county. Just before 7pm Saturday evening, emergency personnel from several agencies responded to the south fork of the Eel river near the Dyerville overlook. North of Wiatt. A woman had become stranded in the water with an overturned kayak. Thomas Norris, a battalion chief with Rio Del Fire Protection District, stated that the woman was low key, located near the confluence of the South Fork and main stem of the Eel river near Founders Tree on the east side of Highway 101. He shared this interview with our news partner, Kim Kemp of redheaded Black Belt.
- 0:47Speaker B: It looked like a young female stranded on the other side of the river, the south fork of the Eel river, to say how or why she ended up there. She's on an overturned kayak. Where she was at was, I'd say, reasonably kind of dangerous because of all the strainers that was around her. So 7:00 we got there around, I'd say 10, 15 minutes after the call. 10 minutes after the call, patient was stranded on the other side of the river, the north side of the South Fork before they merge. We were able to. As soon as I made access to her, I put on a. She gave her a pfd. And then we were able to hike up, upriver a couple hundred feet. So I had good access to make a safe transition across the river with Sol Humtec assisting. Kai Astro assisted me to the other side. I swam across, got her and then pretty much swam her back across the river. So when I swam, I swam up. Tourists. That's the patient, no injuries, is hypothermic, able to walk her up the river a little ways, put a PFD on her and then swam her across back across the river with assistance with her T5000 kiosk. And then she was transported to a city ambulance who was parked up on top of the Diamond Hill Lookout.
- 2:15Speaker A: The woman was uninjured but cold and hypothermic. She was treated by first responders waiting on the other side of the river. Another call that could have turned serious also ended without injuries. This one in Shelter Cove. A vehicle went over the bank with a trapped victim at Seal Court near its intersection with the Surf Point Coffee Shop.
- 2:42Speaker C: Yeah. Good afternoon. I'm Fire Chief Nick Pape with the Shelter Grove Fire Department. Yesterday our department had a medical aid that was actually dispatched as a rescue with a patient over the bank around 1:30. We received reports of a vehicle that had gone over the bank with a patient trapped in the area of Surf Point, Shelter Cove. Our on call, officer responded down there within five minutes and reported back that this call was not as reported. The vehicle wasn't actually over the bank, but it was teetering on the edge of a bank above the ocean approximately 25ft. Still a dynamic call, but definitely not as bad as reported. So he was able to cancel a majority of the mutual aid Due to the nature of the incident. Our dispatch center sends additional resources just in case the call is more than one department can handle. So in this case we had three departments responding including Shelter Co Fire, Whale, Goach Fire and Cal Fire. We also had our technical rescue team that's based out of Garberville, but it's a joint team with all different departments from southern Humboldt. They were also responding as well as an ambulance and air ambulance. So a lot of resources initially going to this call to make sure we get the best services for this patient. Fortunately, within five minutes additional resources were able to show up and we were able to use our electric jaws alive to lift the vehicle off the patient's trapped leg. And she sustained some minor to moderate bruising, but overall minor injuries and she was released and I guess from what when I heard she drove that car backed over the hill to Garberville after the tow truck pulled it off. So what initially was a very scary call kind of turned into a routine extrication for us and extremely proud of the crew and the community for activated the 911 system promptly. A lot of times people wait too long to call 911 trying to help or for whatever various reasons and it slows down our response. So again we'd like to thank the community for getting us coming early and our mutual aid resources that were there to back us up.
- 4:51Speaker A: Shelter Cove will be holding a community wide wildfire drill and FundRaiser on Saturday, May 10th. We will bring you more on that event later this week. Fruitland Ridge Volunteer Fire and Cal Fires High Rock crew responded to what's being investigated as a downed power line wildfire near the 3300 block of Dyerville Loop Road. We spoke with Jimmy Hensley, the department's fire chief.
- 5:24Speaker D: We sent our water tender down to it and assisted with the efforts there.
- 5:31Speaker A: Thanks to the quick work of first responders, the fire was contained at approximately a quarter acre. This week also marks Cal Fire's Wildfire preparedness week with officials calling on residents to take proactive steps to protect their homes and communities ahead of peak fire season. This year's campaign theme is quote, building a fire ready future, Strengthening our defenses together. Close quote. It emphasizes the shared responsibility among individuals, neighborhoods, and agencies to reduce wildfire risk.
- 6:08Speaker D: Just be mindful the grasses will dry out fast with dry weather and wind, and people just need to pay attention to what they're doing and be mindful of their surroundings.
- 6:22Speaker A: Helpful preparedness tips can be found online@readyforwildfire.org.