RogerTwo hikers were rescued near La Cumbre Peak after noon on Saturday.
At 12:36 p.m., Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to a call of hikers in distress off E. Camino Cielo Road. Crews responded with Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Los Padres Forest Service, AMR ambulance, and Santa Barbara County Air Ops.
The helicopter was able to gain a visual on the hikers and lowered two firefighters/paramedics to where the hikers were located. A father in his 50’s and his teenage son was assessed for dehydration and possible injury. Both were hoisted to the helicopter and flown to Santa Barbara Airport, said Public Information Officer Mike Eliason.
An ambulance was waiting at the airport and transported the hikers to Cottage Hospital. Eliason stated the hikers suffered injuries consistent with prolonged heat exposure and an unknown injury, but both were non-life threatening.
I don’t know how they were injured heard only part of the call..SBSO just arrived to LaCumbre Peak.
Heard the sirens, hoped it wasn’t a fire! Seems like there’s a rescue up one of the front country trails every couple of days. Been hiking those trails for 50 years, and don’t remember this being the case until about 10 years ago–cell phone related, maybe? I also don’t remember a lot of people missing up there or ending up dead or in hospital. Maybe my memory is not so good.
They found the guy earlier I believe there are 2 searches going on one for the fire department captain. I don’t know if there was more than one hiker said so on Twitter or any conditions of victim or victims.
The internet might have something to do with it. What used to be hiking info known only to some locals is now available to anyone who knows how to use a search engine. And the widespread adoption of GPS devices and phones acts as an enabler and usage multiplier. Did you know there’s a geocache at the entrance to Horse Thief Cave at the “foot” of Cathedral Peak? We discovered it by accident but the cache showed many people with GPS devices have been up there in the 2000’s. Not griping, just conjecture/analysis.
A father and teen age son, one minor injury, both hoisted out by copter 3.