Full Notification

9 Year Old Girl Rescued from Tangerine Falls Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit Hoists Injured Girl to Safety

9 Year Old Girl Rescued from Tangerine Falls
Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit Hoists Injured Girl to Safety

Santa Barbara – At about 5 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012, a 9 year old girl hiking with her mother and friends below Tangerine Falls on the West Fork of Cold Springs Canyon north of Montecito, slipped on a rock face and slid approximately 20 feet. As she was sliding down she suffered an open fracture to her upper arm. The girl’s mother had a cell phone and immediately called 9-1-1 for help.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Emergency Dispatch Center received the 9-1-1 call and dispatched personnel from the Montecito Fire Protection Agency, Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) and AMR paramedics to the trail head on East Mountain Drive. After hiking up the canyon approximately 30 minutes, Montecito Fire Paramedics reached the injured girl finding her in shock, and experiencing a great deal of pain. Due to the remote and difficult terrain, nature of injury and the age of the girl, Paramedics requested a helicopter from the Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit with hoist capabilities respond to the scene.

Montecito Paramedics started advanced life support measures to treat the girl’s condition. Additional rescue personnel from SBCSAR arrived to help carry the girl down over large boulders to a small clearing below Tangerine Falls. A Paramedic with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department was lowered from a helicopter, placed the injured girl into a sling harness, and hoisted her out of the canyon. The girl was then flown to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Emergency Center for additional treatment. Rescue personnel then assisted the girl's mother and friends back down the trail to their vehicles. Personnel from Montecito Fire, Santa Barbara County Fire, SBCSAR, and members of the County Air Support Unit, participated in the rescue which concluded just after 7 pm.

Address/Location
Santa Barbara County Sheriff
4434 Calle Real
Goleta, CA 93110

Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-681-4192