|
Two Rescued from Snow near Ice House
January 1998
When deep snow trapped a couple of Sacramento campers in the Ice House area, it took the combined efforts of Search and Rescue, the Sheriff's Department, CHP, the Forest Service Nordic Ski Team, SMUD and Channel 10 to find and rescue them.
On Saturday January 3, 1998 a man and wife, Rene and Lupe, left Sacramento and drove into the Ice House area planning to do some snow camping. They took an old logging road several miles into the woods and spend Saturday there. That night, however, one of the coldest storms of the season struck, leaving huge amounts of snow behind. (This same storm dropped snow as low as Placerville.) The couple had no choice but to drive out on Sunday, but it wasn't long before they became stuck in waist deep drifts. They spent Sunday night huddled in the cab of their pickup truck, covered with sleeping bags and blankets as temperatures dipped into the twenties.
When Rene did not show up for work on Monday morning, his friends and relatives became worried. About 1230 his sister called the Sheriff's Office. The SO immediately started a mobilizing resources, including the CHP, SMUD, and the Forest Service. A SAR callout began about at about 1430 for management and 4WD teams. The command post was set up at the Forest Service Information Center on Ice House Road and Deputy Mike Wilson, on duty as 55 Adam that afternoon, acted as coordinator.
Meanwhile, CHP Air 23, a fixed wing airplane, was directed into the area and spotted a black pickup stuck in the snow. However, they could not fly low enough to examine the truck closely. So, the Channel 10 helicopter volunteered to join the search. At about 1630, as it hovered at tree top level over the truck, Rene and Lupe heard it, jumped out, and began waving their arms.
Because the deep soft snow made travel difficult, it took over an hour for Deputy Scott Stewart and Frank Yost to make their way to the trapped couple on snowmobiles. Once they determined that Rene and Lupe were OK, Scott and Frank drove them out to meet the SMUD snow cat which was coming up several miles behind, and the rescue was completed at about 1830 hours.
|