Three rescues were performed at three national parks in Washington state Sunday by a National Park Service (NPS) helitack crew, along with climbing rangers.
Helitack crews are teams of first responders who are sent by helicopters to respond to emergencies.
Officials said the first rescue happened in the North Cascades National Park after a call came in about 9 a.m. into the park’s communication center about a backpacker who was in respiratory distress.
The rescuers found the 18-year-old backpacker and performed a short-haul technique, in which the rescuer and the rescued were suspended on a line below the helicopter.
The person was taken to Marblemount and then taken to the hospital.
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By late afternoon, a 55-year-old man who needed medical attention had to be rescued in Olympic National Park, officials said.
The man had been out hiking in the backcountry since Tuesday, but a call was not made to park dispatch until Saturday by another hiker who encountered the man.
He was taken to the hospital by the park helicopter.
That same evening, crews were back out, this time at Mount Rainier National Park.
Some injured climbers’ signal from an emergency beacon activation was received from Mount Rainier’s Liberty Ridge.
Crews had to perform a reconnaissance rescue at about 9,500 feet as the climbers waited on the steep ridge.
It was just before 9 p.m. before the helicopter landed at home base with the climbers.
During the summer, the three national parks share a helicopter that is used in short-haul rescues, officials said.
Cox Media Group
