Woman loses footing, plunges 50 feet down California waterfall, officials say
As a woman was hiking near waterfalls in the California mountains, she “lost her footing,” officials said.
That slip at the middle falls caused her to fall about 50 feet down Big Falls in Forest Falls on Thursday, July 28, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
To rescue the 46-year-old woman, a Calimesa resident, crews hiked into the waterfall, officials said. She was ultimately airlifted to a trauma center for “non-life threatening injuries.”
Thursday’s accident is the second reported at the waterfalls this week, Eric Sherwin, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, told McClatchy News.
“This is a very, unfortunately, common incident at this location,” Sherwin said.
There have been five incidents, with two fatalities, this year alone, according to Sherwin.
On Sunday, July 24, a man died and a woman was injured after falling down a waterfall, and in May, a 33-year-old man was found dead at the base of the waterfall after an 80-foot fall, McClatchy News previously reported.
“We have numerous waterfalls that flow year-round in the San Bernardino National Forest,” Sherwin said. “However, Big Falls is the easiest one to get to.”
Trouble arises when hikers, who are often barefoot, are traveling back down from the upper falls to the middle falls, Sherwin said. There, sits a rock referred to as “blood rock.”
“This rock is infamous for causing these incidents. Over centuries of water flow, this rock has become slick as glass,” Sherwin said. “So wet feet on a glass-like rock is a recipe for disaster.”
Dozens have fallen from the rock over the years, according to Sherwin.
The area, though, was closed as of June 16, according to the U.S. Forest Service. This applies to an area of 150 feet of Falls Creek near the waterfall, an area between the viewing platform at the end of Big Falls Trail and an area past the top Upper Big Falls.
The closure will remain in place for nearly another year, until June 17, 2023, the agency said. Someone caught violating the order could face a $5,000 fine.
But there’s more to think about than just that fine, according to Sherwin.
“More importantly, somebody that injures themselves may be responsible for any cost of any recovery or rescue efforts that may take place to remove them from that incident,” Sherwin said.
That cost, according to Sherwin, can be upwards of $10,000.
This story was originally published July 29, 2022 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Woman loses footing, plunges 50 feet down California waterfall, officials say."
