A Search and Rescue helicopter called in from Campbell River saved the day after a woman in her mid-60s fell and injured her back during a group hike on Scout Mountain in Wildwood.
Powell River RCMP and Emergency Health Services were called to the mountain on the morning of Wednesday, July 6 after the woman fell about 20 feet (six metres) into a ravine. Rob Southcott, paramedic unit chief, said that remarkably the woman was not seriously injured but given the location where she fell emergency workers needed a helicopter to lift her out. There is no official word on the woman’s condition.
Powell River Search and Rescue manager Don McLeod said helicopter crew used a rope and sling attached to the stretcher to haul the person out. They then set her down in Sunset Park, where she was transferred to an ambulance and taken to Powell River General Hospital. All told the rescue took over five hours.
“It was a little frustrating, the time to get a helicopter, but we got her out of there,” said McLeod.
Powell River Search and Rescue has responded to five calls in five weeks now. In one incident, a man who had fallen a tree on himself near Inland Lake and shattered his femur was rescued by boat. McLeod said the volunteer service typically responds to calls anywhere from seven to 16 times a year and that busy periods like this, while uncommon, sometimes occur.
With so many people going into the backcountry for summer outdoor activities McLeod reminds people to make sure someone else always knows where they are going. Preparing for eventualities, such as vehicle breakdowns, is also recommended by McLeod who suggests making sure to take a good pair of shoes or boots along in case you end up having to walk distances through the bush.
“If we’re not told where they are then it’s an awful big area to start looking,” said McLeod. “Always tell someone where you’re going, then if you’re overdue we have a starting point. Lund to Saltery Bay is not a starting point.”
