Hunter with broken leg airlifted in Saturday rescue

SPRINGVILLE — A hunting trip gone awry led to a Saturday rescue effort involving two helicopters and personnel from at least four agencies to airlift a man with a broken leg.

At 2:43 p.m, a 34-year-old hunter who had broken his leg was stranded in the area of Highway 190 and Wishon Road, near the Dunn Ride Trail.

According to TCFD Captain Kevin Riggi, the man, who had been hunting with three other men, broke his leg in the course of following the hunters’ dogs up the mountain. The dogs had begun chasing a bear.

The Tulare County Fire Department, California Forestry and Fire Protection Department, California Highway Patrol and the United States Forestry Service assisted in the rescue operation.

The GPS coordinates of the man’s location were determined by a Skylife medical helicopter after scouting the area.

Springville Fire Captain Jason Brassman, firefighters Joseph and Abram Lindvall and Camp Nelson Engineer Elhart Foytek hiked up the mountain in thick brush for approximately 45 minutes, and monitored the patient until an H40 helicopter arrived.

Another hunter had fashioned a field splint and splinted the injury by the time they arrived.

The H40 helicopter, piloted by CHP personnel, lowered a rescue hoist known as a Bowman Bag, over the rescuers and the patient and transported the injured man suspended in air to the landing zone where the Skylife was located.

The Skylife helicopter then transported him to a hospital.

According to Riggi, the rescue was complete approximately three hours after the incident was reported.