Rangers assist injured, from age 13 to 78

Recent Forest Ranger actions:

Town of Colton
St. Lawrence County
Wilderness Rescue: On Aug. 26 at 1:20 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a man reporting that his 73-year-old wife had fallen and injured her hip near the Lows Lake Upper Dam. Forest Rangers Benzel and Evans, Assistant Forest Ranger (AFR) Woughter and Long Lake EMS responded to assist. AFR Woughter arrived on scene at 2:40 p.m., and with a coordinated effort with Long Lake EMS, carried the injured woman from Coram out to an ambulance that transported her to a local hospital for medical treatment.

Town of Webb
Herkimer County
Wilderness Rescue: On Aug. 26 at 3:20 p.m., Herkimer County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 13-year-old boy hiking with his father with an injured ankle on the summit of Bald Mountain. Forest Ranger Candee responded to the scene along with the Town of Webb Police Department and Old Forge Fire and EMS. Through a coordinated effort, responders carried the young hiker from Frankfort to the trail and turned him over to Old Forge EMS for medical treatment.

Town of Lake Luzerne
Warren County
State Swiftwater Task Force Training: On Aug. 26 and 27, the Governor’s Swiftwater Task Force, which consists of State Police, Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Park Police, and DEC’s Divisions of Law Enforcement and New York State Forest Rangers participated in general boat operation training at the confluence of the Sacandaga and Hudson rivers.

DEC Forest Rangers take part in Swiftwater Task Force training exercises

Town of Warrensburg
Warren County
Wilderness Rescue: On Aug. 28 at 1:20 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a request for assistance for a 78-year-old woman from Lake George who was thrown from a horse at Pack Forest Trails. Four Forest Rangers responded, arriving on scene at 1:40 p.m., and locating the woman shortly thereafter. With the assistance of Warrensburg EMS, Forest Rangers packaged up the injured woman and conducted a short carryout to a waiting Chestertown Fire Department ATV. The woman was then transported back to the gate and turned over to Warrensburg EMS for transportation to a local hospital for medical treatment. The incident concluded at 4 p.m.

Town of Long Lake
Hamilton County
Wilderness Rescue: On Aug. 29 at 9:10 p.m., a call came into DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch from three kayakers on Little Tupper Lake in the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area. The kayakers were asking for assistance for a woman in the group who injured her lower leg while on a hike earlier in the day. The group had made it to a nearby island before calling for help. Forest Rangers Miller and Lewis respond to the Whitney Headquarters and then went to the boat launch where Long Lake Rescue Squad was staged to provide medical attention upon completion of the rescue. At 1:18 a.m., Rangers arrived at the injured woman’s location and brought her back to shore. The 38-year-old subject from Buffalo was then transported to a local hospital for further medical treatment.

Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On Aug. 30 at 10:24 a.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a series of calls from the International Emergency Response Center (IERC) dispatch, the Adirondack Loj, and hikers on Gothics Mountain reporting a 20-year-old-man with a dislocated shoulder was just below the summit. Forest Ranger van Laer responded on foot from the Adirondack Mountain Reserve with the Johns Brook caretaker and Assistant Forest Ranger Raudonis. Forest Rangers LaPierre and Praczkajlo responded to New York State Police Aviation in Lake Clear to assist. At 12:29 p.m., the aviation mission was aborted due to high winds and cloud cover on the mountain’s summit. Caretaker Tyler reached the injured party at 1:24 p.m. The shoulder dislocation was successfully reduced allowing the injured hiker to start walking down the mountain. At 4:15 p.m., the Rangers and the subject were out of the woods. The injured hiker from Ballston Lake sought further medical treatment on his own.

Franklin County
U.S. Airforce Training: The United States Air Force’s 20th Air Support Operations Squadron stationed at Ft. Drum recently conducted training on DeBar Mountain Wild Forest Area in Franklin County with the support of DEC’s Region 5 Divisions of Lands and Forests and Forest Protection. The three-day training had the squadron working communication links in the field, as well as back to Ft. Drum, while camping out and practicing survival training in the backcountry.