Rangers Respond to a Serious Mountain Bike Accident
On Saturday 6/4/22 a mountain biker had a crash in the Montebello Open Space Preserve on the Skid Road Trail and suffered significant injuries.
A Ranger on Motorcycle Patrol was flagged down by a bystander and alerted to the accident at the same time that it was being called in to emergency dispatch by a call box on the highway.
Rangers were the first emergency responders on scene with the injured patient. Rangers provided a medical assessment and relayed this information to paramedics responding with the City of Palo Alto Fire Department. Paramedics that receive these patient updates are better able to prepare and be ready to provide care to the patient as they respond as well as learn the best way to access the patient on our extensive trail network. Based on this assessment and the patient’s condition, it was determined that the patient would need to be evacuated by a medical helicopter.
Open Space Preserves have designated helicopter landing zones in strategic locations in preparation for incidents such as these and the Districts Maintenance Crew regularly mows and maintains these landing zones so that they are ready for emergencies.
Rangers are also trained in helicopter operations to be able to secure a landing zone and communicate any hazards to the helicopter pilot so that the helicopter can be landed safely. Having eyes on the ground trained to identify hazards that the pilot can not see from the cockpit is critical to safe helicopter operations.
Rangers assisted paramedics to load the patient onto a backboard and transport the patient off of the trail in a 4 wheel drive Ranger truck as the ambulance could not access this location. Another Ranger established the landing zone nearby at Skyline Ridge and assisted the pilot to land the helicopter safely. Rangers then assisted the flight nurse load the patient onto the helicopter that quickly transported the patient from the remote location on skyline ridge to a hospital where they could be treated for their injuries.
This incident highlights the interagency cooperation that is required to provide life saving care to an injured patient in the Open Space Preserves. Rangers are trained and able to integrate into an incident management system with other agencies to address emergencies that arise and are the local area experts on the Open Space Preserves and can provide information on trails and conditions to other responders.
If you support having skilled and trained Rangers ready to respond to public safety emergencies such as this that occur within and surrounding Open Space Lands please contact your elected board members and ask them to return to the negotiations table with the Rangers to offer a benefits package that is consistent with their public safety role.