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DEM #99-1787 August 7, 1999 |
The Unit was contacted by the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management at 6:30 P.M. on Saturday Aug 7th . Snohomish County had requested as many members as we could send to help carry out a 15 year-old boy who had been struck by a boulder on the Pacific Crest trail in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. A call-out was made and nine members responded: John Miner, Bill Weber, Jeff Sharp, Sanford Winslow, Russell Anschell, Jim Andrues, Alan Givotovsky, Marcus Collins and Fran McFarland The following was submitted by John Miner who was Operations Leader, Editor
The weekend of August 7-8, 1999 was one of the busiest the Unit has had recently, with the very unusual event of two major operations at the same location on the same day and totally unrelated in nature.
On 8-7-99 at 2330hrs. members of the Tacoma Mountain Rescue Unit assembled at the designated landing zone near milepost 23 on the Suiattle River Road outside Darrington. Initial information was that a party was hiking along the Pacific Crest trail and had stopped to take a break when one of their members was struck by a large rock. He was in very serious condition (three hip fractures, ruptured spleen, bruised lung and cracked ribs, Editor) and the intent was to get him flown out on this evening. A fire department medic and two rescue personnel had been dropped by helicopter some 500' above the injured party and had made their way to the victim. We were to learn later that he was at the 4400' level of the Pacific Crest trail near Vista Creek. The weather was very poor with heavy cloud cover and we staged to do a night helicopter operation with Blackhawk Helicopters, one from Yakima and one from Ft. Lewis. The following team members were assembled:
Operations Leader: John Miner, Truck Driver: Bill Weber, Team 1: Jeff Sharp Sanford Winslow, Russell Anschell and Jim Andrues Team 2. Alan Givotovsky, Marcus Collins and Fran McFarland
There were many other rescue organizations arriving at the end of the road where the command post was set up. These included Tacoma, Seattle, Everett and Olympic Mountain Rescue Units.
ESAR units from Seattle and Snohomish County and horse units from King County were also present. Ultimately the weather would not allow the copters to get in and the party on the Crest Trail, 19 miles from the road end, would have to spend the night. We camped at the horse pasture LZ, along with a large bug population, and waited for the morning. Our tentative assignment was to fly in, get the patient to an LZ, and get him out. The weather did not cooperate and a ground team was started in at 0811hrs., consisting of Jeff, Sanford, Russell, Fran and Marcus. The horse units and other ground teams started in as well. Givo and Jim were assigned to fly with two Everett Mountain Rescue members and they launched at 0836hrs. The Snohomish helicopter took off with marginal conditions for the mountain. The helicopter dropped Givo and John Wilson of Everett Mountain Rescue off at a sandbar and was able to "sneak in" under the clouds and set down long enough for the few ground personnel that were there to get the victim on the helicopter. The task then was to get all of the ground teams that were scattered over twenty miles of trail out, along with the rest of the party that the victim had been with. The communications was difficult at best, even with a relay team.
Tacoma Mountain Rescue |
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