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Entries Tagged as 'accident'

Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 2/23-3/1/15

March 3rd, 2015 · No Comments · Adirondack News

NYSDEC LogoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the backcountry.

“DEC Forest Rangers’ knowledge of first aid, land navigation and technical rescue techniques are often critical to the success of their missions,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “Search and rescue missions often require Rangers to function in remote wilderness areas from rugged mountainous peaks to white-water rivers, and through vast forest areas from spruce-fir thicket to open hardwoods.”


Recent missions carried out by DEC Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks include:

Essex County

High Peaks Wilderness – Town of North Elba
Injured hiker: On March 1, 2015 at 12:34 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call about an injured hiker on Cliff Mountain. A 20-year-old woman from North Grandby, CT fell and slid approximately 25 feet before hitting a tree. A DEC Forest Ranger and the Lake Colden Outpost Interior Caretaker responded. They reached the hiker at 2:15 p.m. and brought her to the Lake Colden Outpost to warm up. At 3:43 p.m., additional Rangers and NYSP Aviation prepared and removed the injured woman by helicopter. She was transported to Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake for treatment. The incident concluded at 4:15 p.m.

High Peaks Wilderness – Town of North Elba
Injured skier: On March 1, 2015 at 4:22 p.m., after clearing a previous search, two DEC Forest Rangers encountered an injured skier south of Marcy Dam. They determined the 30-year-old woman from New Hartford, NY could not travel out on her own. The Rangers brought her out via snowmobile and took her to ADK Loj where she said she would seek medical attention on her own. The incident concluded at 5:45 p.m.

Herkimer County

Independence River Wild Forest – Town of Webb
Injured snowmobiler: On February 27, 2015 at 11:23 a.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received word of a snowmobile accident on Trail #1. The rider, a 48-year-old man from Paramus, NJ was having shoulder and lower leg pain. Big Moose EMS responded to the scene. They transported the man to the trailhead where he was taken by ambulance to the Lewis County Medical Center.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety and Adirondack Trail Information webpages for more information.

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Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 2/9-2/15/15

February 18th, 2015 · No Comments · Adirondack News

NYSDEC LogoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the backcountry.

“DEC Forest Rangers’ knowledge of first aid, land navigation and technical rescue techniques are often critical to the success of their missions,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “Search and rescue missions often require Rangers to function in remote wilderness areas from rugged mountainous peaks to white-water rivers, and through vast forest areas from spruce-fir thicket to open hardwoods.”


Recent missions carried out by DEC Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks include:

Essex County
High Peaks Wilderness – Town of North Elba
Lost Hikers: On February 10, 2015 at 5:50 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a report that a spot locator beacon had been activated in the High Peaks Wilderness. The coordinates placed the hiker at the intersection of Hopkins Trail and the Van Hoevenberg Trail on Mount Marcy. As a DEC Forest Ranger responded, the hiker and his companions coordinates changed to indicate he was still on the trail and heading to Marcy Dam. The Ranger arrived at Adirondack Loj and headed up the trail to Marcy Dam. He located the hikers, in good condition, past Algonquin Junction. The 41-year-old male from Westchester, PA and his companions; a 40 year-old male from Boyertown, PA and a 45 year-old male from Melberne, PA, stated they had started from the Garden and got turned around on the Hopkins Trail. They activated the beacon and then decided to follow signs and ski out on the Van Hoevenberg trail. After being located, Rangers escorted the party out to the Adirondack Loj trail head and provided transportation to the party’s lodging location in Keene Valley. The incident concluded at 9:30 p.m.

High Peaks Wilderness – Town of North Elba
Injured Hiker: On February 15, 2015 at 3:00 p.m., Essex County 911 contacted DEC Ray Brook Dispatch requesting assistance for a climber who had fallen and suffered a lower leg injury. Forest Rangers located the 31-year-old male from New York, NY 3/4 of a mile down the Junction to Wright on the Algonquin Trail above MacIntyre Falls. DEC Forest Rangers responded to a staging area at Adirondack Loj. Rangers used snowmobiles to get in as far as they could and then snowshoed the rest of the way, reaching the climber at 5:48 p.m. His was stabilized and carried a distance to the waiting snowmobiles and then transported via sled to the Adirondack Loj. He was taken by the Lake Placid Ambulance Squad to Adirondack Medical Center in Lake Placid. The incident concluded at 7:35 p.m.

High Peaks Wilderness – Town of North Elba
Overdue Hikers: On February 15, 2015 at 7:10 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call regarding two overdue hikers. The two males, a 29-year-old from Arlington, VA and a 29-year-old from Washington, DC signed in at the trail registry for two days to hike Avalanche Lake and the Trap Dyke and were to stay at Avalanche Camps. They should have returned that day. Four DEC Forest Rangers responded to search for the men. Two DEC Forest Rangers used snowmobiles to access Avalanche Camps. Fresh foot prints believed to be those of the hikers, helped the Rangers locate the men at 9:45 p.m. near their vehicle parked at the Adirondack Loj. The weather hindered their hike and delayed them significantly from packing up at Avalanche Camps and hiking out. One male transported himself to Adirondack Medical Center in Lake Placid for evaluation of possible frost bite on his hands. The incident concluded at 10:00 p.m.

Hamilton County
Perkins Clearing Conservation Easement – Town of Lake Pleasant
Injured Snowmobiler: On February 15, 2015 at 1:08 p.m., Hamilton County 911 advised DEC Ray Brook Dispatch of a snowmobile accident involving a 50-year-old female from Clifton Park, NY who hit a tree. EMS was dispatched to Perkins Clearing Road in the Town of Speculator. Two DEC Forest Rangers and EMS arrived on scene and secured the woman, who had sustained a lower leg injury, for transport. She was carried out, loaded into an ambulance and taken to Nathan Latour Hospital for treatment. The incident concluded at 1:55 p.m.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety and Adirondack Trail Information webpages for more information.

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Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 1/12-01/18/15

January 22nd, 2015 · No Comments · Adirondack News

NYSDEC LogoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the backcountry.

“DEC Forest Rangers’ knowledge of first aid, land navigation and technical rescue techniques are often critical to the success of their missions,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “Search and rescue missions often require Rangers to function in remote wilderness areas from rugged mountainous peaks to white-water rivers, and through vast forest areas from spruce-fir thicket to open hardwoods.”


Recent missions carried out by DEC Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks include:

Hamilton County

Town of Indian Lake
Injured Hiker: DEC Dispatch received a call from Hamilton County 911 at 3:00 p.m. on January 17 advising of an injured Boy Scout hiking on the Blue Mountain hiking trail. The Boy Scout Group secured the 17-year-old boy and began bringing him down the mountain. DEC Forest Rangers and the Blue Mountain Fire Department located the group on the trail at 4:57 p.m., and placed the injured boy in a Stokes Litter, brought him down Blue Mountain to a waiting Blue Mountain Lake Ambulance Squad at the trailhead. He was transported to Adirondack Health in Saranac Lake for treatment. The incident concluded at 6:15 p.m.

Town of Indian Lake
Injured Snowmobiler: DEC Forest Rangers responded to a snowmobile accident in the Moose River Plains area on January 19 at 1:44 p.m. A member of a snowmobile party called DEC Ray Brook Dispatch, informing them that a 30-year-old man from Hamilton, NJ, struck a tree while riding a snowmobile trail. Indian Lake Fire & Rescue Department also responded. Responders, including Indian Lake Fire & Rescue Department, reached the injured man at 2:30 p.m. and administered first aid. Crews brought him out to the nearest trailhead by rescue toboggan behind a snowmobile. The Indian Lake Ambulance Squad transported him to Glens Falls Hospital for treatment. The incident concluded at 3:44 p.m.

Lewis County

Town of Watson
Injured Snowmobiler: On January 17 at 12:30 p.m. a caller notified DEC Ray Brook Dispatch about a snowmobile accident three miles east from the intersection of McCarty Road and Stillwater Road. Three DEC Forest Rangers and Lewis County Search and Rescue responded to the location. They discovered an injured 45-year-old female from Clifton Park, NY who they assessed and stabilized for transport via rescue toboggan behind a snowmobile to a waiting ambulance at the intersection of Stillwater Road and Number 4 Road. The injured snowmobiler was taken by ambulance to a helicopter and then flown to Syracuse Hospital for treatment at 3:30 p.m. Town of Webb Police Department snowmobile patrol assisted in the rescue.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety and Adirondack Trail Information web page for more information.

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