Friday, Jun 15, 2007
On the evening of Monday, June 10th, three people in their early 20s were walking along a treacherous segment of the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River that contains boulders, sheer cliffs and steep embankments carpeted in poison oak. As they tried to climb up to the ridgeline above the river, one of them lost his balance and fell 10 to 20 feet into shallow water. The other two pulled him out of the water and onto a boulder, then one of them went to get help. John Cilmi, the Potwisha campground host, notified dispatch of the incident just before 7 p.m. Rangers Tim Bailey, Mike Nattrass and Amber Blythe responded. Because the man could not be reached via the river and no helicopter was available, a technical SAR team was assembled to conduct a night rescue. Bailey served as IC, while Blythe rappelled about 100 feet down to the victim via long-line to provide medical treatment. The rescue took over seven hours to complete and required complicated mechanical belays, rappels, and hoists. The man was placed in a Three Rivers ambulance just before 2 a.m. and driven to Kaweah Delta Hospital. His injuries were not life threatening. This technical rescue required the efforts of more than 30 people, including rangers, firefighters and staff from all districts, California CDF firefighters, members of a Federal Highway Administration illumination crew who were working in the park, and the volunteer Potwisha campground hosts.
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