Sonoma, CA – Yesterday afternoon, the Marin County Fire Department requested the Sheriff’s Helicopter “Henry-1” assist with rescuing an elderly person in the Muir Woods National Monument recreation area; just south of Mt. Tamalpais. It was reported the patient was at the bottom of a steep ravine and had fallen approximately 150 feet from the trail they had been hiking on.CHP – Golden Gate Division Air Operations helicopter H32 arrived prior to H1 and located the patient.
It should be noted H1 is the only helicopter in the region with the capability of deploying a 200-foot long line.
Due to the location of the patient, including the depth of the ravine and height of the tree canopy, H1 was requested to complete a 200 foot long line rescue of the patient.
H1’s Tactical Flight Officer (TFO) and Rescue Paramedic were flown into the scene, via a 200 foot long line.
The patient was packaged into a rescue device (stokes basket) and long lined from the ravine to a nearby landing zone (LZ) where H32 had configured for a medical transport.
Once at the LZ, the patient was subsequently flown by H32 to a local area hospital.Watch video on Facebook.com