The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, with the coordinated efforts of North County EMS (NCEMS), the Volcano Rescue Team (VRT), JL Aviation and Clark County Fire District 13, conducted a mission on July 24 to rescue a hiker who had become ill.
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatch center was notified by Washington state Emergency Operations Center of a satellite messenger device activation from a hiker in Skamania County, a news release from the sheriff’s office stated.
The hiker advised they had become ill and were unable to continue hiking back to their vehicle. The coordinates sent by the satellite device were within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument on a trail north of Spirit Lake.
A Skamania County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue coordinator was assigned and began the coordination of rescue efforts.
North County EMS and their Volcano Rescue Team volunteers were utilized in locating the patient. Upon locating the patient, members of the Volcano Rescue Team requested JL Aviation for an immediate extraction due to the patient’s deteriorated status.
JL Aviation was utilized in transporting emergency medical personnel to the patient’s location. Upon arrival at the patient’s location, emergency medical personnel determined LifeFlight was not needed.
The patient and medical personnel were then transported by JL Aviation back to Yacolt to meet their ambulance. Clark County Fire District 13 was utilized in securing a designated landing zone for the helicopter. Following the helicopter’s arrival at the landing zone, the patient was transferred to an ambulance and subsequently transported to an area hospital.
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office expressed gratitude to the personnel from North County EMS, the volunteers of the Volcano Rescue Team, JL Aviation and Clark County Fire District 13 personnel for their dedicated service and unity of effort in the successful completion of this mission.
