Helicopter Rescues Three Hikers Stranded on Sierra Buttes Ridge
Crews lowered a rescuer to extract the group from a steep slope near the summit after a satellite SOS signal arrived Sunday afternoon.
By Ryan Phillips ·
Three hikers stranded on a steep mountainside in Northern California were rescued by helicopter on Sunday. The group was located on the Sierra Buttes, a peak in Sierra County. They were positioned just south of a fire lookout tower near the top of the mountain.
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office received an alert at approximately 2:30 p.m. A Garmin inReach satellite device sent an SOS signal to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. This triggered a search and rescue response. Deputies called in the Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Team. They also requested the RAVEN helicopter crew from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Once the crew spotted the hikers, a rescue team member was lowered from the aircraft to reach them. All three individuals were then hoisted off the slope and flown to a landing zone. Sierra County deputies waited at that location to meet the group. The sheriff’s office stated that the difficult terrain and hazardous location made a helicopter hoist rescue necessary.
The Sierra Buttes rise above the North Yuba River canyon. The mountain stands at approximately 8,600 feet. A fire lookout sits near the summit, according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Authorities did not explain how the group became stranded. They also did not report whether anyone was injured during the incident.
The rescue followed two other high-profile incidents on Northern California mountains earlier this month. Last week, a 39-year-old man from Florida was flown to a hospital after falling through a snow bridge on Whitney Glacier. He sustained a severe leg injury. Bad weather delayed his aerial extraction until the following day, when crews carried him to a viable landing zone.
Earlier this month, a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman from Salt Lake City were rescued from Mount Shasta. They had been trapped between cliffs for 36 hours. Both climbers were uninjured, authorities said. The Sierra Buttes rescue drew praise on social media, with commenters thanking the emergency crews for their coordination.
Source: Fox News
