Helicopter Rescues 3 Stranded on California's 8,600-Foot Sierra Buttes

Q: What left three people stranded below the Sierra Buttes summit, and how did a Garmin SOS trigger a helicopter hoist rescue?

What left the three stranded has not been disclosed by authorities; officials said only that they were stuck on a steep, exposed stretch of the Sierra Buttes just below the summit, near a lookout tower, where the terrain was too hazardous for a ground rescue. The rescue began around 2:30 p.m. Sunday when a Garmin inReach satellite communicator sent an SOS to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Because the device uses satellite coverage rather than cell service, it was able to transmit from the remote mountain area. That alert triggered a multi-agency response led by the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Team and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office RAVEN helicopter crew. After locating the group on the mountainside, rescuers determined a helicopter hoist was the safest option because of the steep, difficult-to-access terrain. A rescue team member was lowered from the helicopter to the stranded people, and all three were then hoisted out and flown to a landing zone where deputies were waiting. Officials did not say whether anyone was injured. The case underscores why satellite emergency devices are valuable in backcountry travel: they can send distress alerts from places with no cellular coverage and quickly connect stranded hikers or climbers to rescue coordinators.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 27

Three people stranded on a steep section of the Sierra Buttes were hoisted to safety by helicopter Sunday after rescuers located them near a lookout tower below the summit.
A Garmin inReach SOS sent around 2:30 p.m. alerted California emergency officials, prompting Sierra County deputies to call in Nevada County's mountain rescue team and Washoe County's RAVEN helicopter crew.
A rescuer was lowered to the group before all three were lifted off the mountainside and flown to a landing zone; authorities said the terrain was too hazardous for a ground extraction.
Officials did not say how the trio became stranded or whether anyone was injured, but the rescue added to a string of recent Northern California mountain emergencies, including Mount Shasta and Whitney Glacier operations this month.