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.
Firefighters, working alongside Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue, reached the hiker and transported her to the trailhead using a Stokes basket. She was then taken to a hospital by ambulance. Her condition has not been released.
The rescue follows an earlier snakebite response in Montecito on April 6, when firefighters were called to the Cold Spring Trail area for an injured hiker in the Los Padres National Forest, according to Montecito Fire. That hiker was treated in the field and transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital by county helicopter. Their condition has not been released.
In Ventura County last month, a Moorpark woman died five days after being bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking near Thousand Oaks. Officials determined the cause of death to be “rattlesnake venom toxicity,” according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office.
While deaths are rare — averaging about five per year in the United States — encounters become more likely as temperatures rise. The California Poison Control System recorded 77 snakebite-related calls between January and March, a higher-than-typical number for early in the year.
Rattlesnakes emerge from winter dormancy as the weather warms, becoming more active on trails just as hiking activity increases. The overlap raises the likelihood of encounters, particularly in the spring and early summer months, according to Cal Poison.
Emergency responders are urging caution on local trails— “Remain vigilant and have an emergency plan in case of a bite,” the Montecito Fire said.
Officials recommend staying on marked paths and wearing protective footwear. In the event of a bite, health officials are clear on what not to do: no tourniquets, no cutting the wound, no attempts to suck out venom — and no ice, alcohol, or over-the-counter painkillers. Call 9-1-1, sit down with the bite in a neutral position, and cover the bite with clean dressing. For those without reception, a text to 9-1-1 or satellite communication may provide a lifeline when a call cannot — or, in this case, a whistle.
