JACKSON, Wyo. — It was a busy July weekend for Jackson’s first responders.
On Sunday alone three rescues were made in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) following a helicopter evacuation Friday by Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR).
Beginning on Friday, TCSAR led two rescue operations. The first was a helicopter evacuation for a 16-year-old with a heart issue on Fox Creek Pass. Additionally, TCSAR rescued an individual who was bucked off a horse, broke a leg and was knocked unconscious in Buffalo Valley.
While Saturday was a quieter day for first responders, Cody Lockhart of TCSAR explained that this week has been especially busy.
“In the last week, there have been close to ten rescues for us,” Â Lockhart told the Jackson Hole Daily.
Rescues began in the late morning hours on Sunday, July 25, when rangers responded to a call of a local man who had sustained severe injuries during a climb of the Open Book route on Disappointment Peak.
From the scene, first responders extracted and short hauled the resident to St. John’s Health for medical attention.
Just a short hour later at 11:50 a.m., dispatchers and rangers responded to a second call regarding an 18- year- old male who had injured his leg in a boulder field below Delta Lake. As did the earlier rescue, the hiker was short hauled and transported to St. John’s to receive medical treatment.
Later in the afternoon, responders received a 4 p.m. call for two kayakers floating in a tandem boat from Pacific Creek to Deadman’s Bar. The kayakers were from out of town and were caught in a midstream obstruction. Rangers then led a rescue to pick up the raft and neither individuals sustained severe injuries.
This summer, first responders have seen how historically high water levels are wreaking havoc for boaters due to high output from the Jackson Lake Dam. In fact, a similar rescue was made on Friday by TCSAR for a pair of canoers on the same stretch of the Snake River.
On Monday, the action continued into the week with a 4 a.m. call which led to a life-flight out of Alaska Basin for a 7-year-old girl who was unconscious and receiving C.P.R.
A successful rescue was made and the young girl is alive and receiving medical care in Salte Lake City.
