Second Montecito Snakebite Rescue Amid Regional Rise in Encounters

A hiker was rescued Sunday afternoon after a rattlesnake bite on the Buena Vista Trail in Montecito, the second such incident in the area this month, according to emergency responders.

At 3:38 p.m., the Montecito Fire Department responded to reports of an injured hiker roughly three-quarters of a mile up the trail. The woman had been bitten on the ankle but could not call 9-1-1 due to inadequate cell service. She “was able to send a text to a loved one, who then contacted emergency services,” the department said in a social media release.

Dispatchers maintained contact with the hiker as she made her way downhill and directed her to use a whistle she had brought with her. “Dispatchers instructed her to blow it repeatedly to help first responders locate her,” the Montecito Fire Department said…

Story continues

TRENDING NOW

LATEST LOCAL NEWS