Palm Springs Fire demonstrates readiness to perform hiker rescues as hot summer months approach
Gavin Nguyen
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Hiking in the heat: it’s one way some valley residents choose to exercise during the hot summer months.
Each summer, firefighters urge hikers to use caution when taking to the trails in the desert heat.
But what if someone does need help on the trails this summer? Fire officials say they’re ready.
Captain Ronald Skyberg, Public Information Officer for the Palm Springs Fire Department, says last year, the department responded to 38 hiker incidents. This number accounts for the times crews were able to locate a victim and take them from the trail. This year, he says they have already completed 12 incidents.
So far, these rescues have mostly involved injuries like sprained ankles, but as the summer months approach, Skyberg says heat-related rescues will likely increase.
“We’re going to see an increase in maybe not necessarily hiker calls necessarily, but when we do go to these hiker calls, an increase in emergency is due to dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke,” says Skyberg.
The fire department trains with law enforcement partners from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol yearly. This ensures communication between the agencies are clear and the helicopter is able to locate firefighters and patients on the ground.
“If we’re not able to get a location for the helicopter to bring down their hoist line, to hook the patient and to hoist the patient back into the helicopter, we’re – it’s never going to work,” Skyberg says.
Aboard their engines and medic squads, firefighters also keep bags – which can often weigh upwards of 60 pounds – filled with gear they need for hiker rescues. Depending on the situation, they’ll do their best to condense their equipment to improve their mobility and decrease the physical demand as they trek long distances to locate injured hikers.
At their disposal: backboards and Stokes baskets to carry victims down the trail, oxygen cylinders, masks, IV drips, and more. Carrying this equipment takes a physical toll.
Engineer Paramedic Nicholas Wood says, “It’s physically demanding on us. We wear our full uniform when we hike out there. We carry all this gear. But that’s why it’s important in our job to, you know, stay physically fit so that we can, you know, help help the community.”
Fire officials highlight three main takeaways for you to consider if you’re planning on hiking over the next few months:
Hike in the morning to beat the heat
Keep a charged cell phone with you
Always hike with a partner; never hike alone!