July 28, 2005
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, CA - Late on the
afternoon of Thursday, July 28th, the backcountry ranger assigned to
Crabtree Meadow received a report that a number of members of a group
of a dozen Boy Scouts hiking near Sandy Meadow had been injured by a
lightning strike. The ranger responded immediately, arriving by foot
within about 30 minutes. He found at least three people who appeared
to be critically injured and called for assistance. Park medics were
dispatched by helicopters to the remote site, which is located at an
altitude of 10,700 feet about four miles west of Mount Whitney, the
highest peak in the 48 contiguous states. Flights were hampered by
continuing strong thunderstorms. Rangers found a number of injured
people, with CPR being administered to several of them. Following
radio consultation with physicians at University Medical Center in
Fresno, one of them was declared dead at the scene. Two more were
flown to the center. Eventually, employing four helicopters, the
entire party of twelve was evacuated. Afternoon lightning storms are
common in the high Sierra during mid-summer, and storms have been
occurring daily during the recent hot weather. Such storms always
present a potential hazard for backcountry travelers. The individual
killed this afternoon was the seventh person to die in Sequoia and
Kings Canyon National Parks this year.
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