THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED REGARDING THE NAME OF ONE OF THE SEARCH AND RESCUE VEHICLES. 

 

CACHE CREEK WILDERNESS – Emergency personnel from Lake and Sonoma counties teamed to rescue a Sacramento man Friday evening after he was injured while visiting the Cache Creek Wilderness Area.

Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Pat Brown, the incident commander for the rescue, reported that Northshore Fire District was dispatched at 3 p.m. Friday to a male subject with a broken leg.

The man was said to be four miles downstream from the Cache Creek Wilderness Area parking lot just off Highway 20, Brown said.

The reporting party had walked out the four miles and called on the emergency call box located on Highway 20, Brown explained. The report noted that the male victim had been in the water but was out and on the bank with an angular leg fracture.

Initial dispatch for Station 75 (Clearlake Oaks) was expanded to include Station 80 (Lucerne), Lake County Fire and Cal Fire, said Brown.

Northshore Fire District had one ambulance, two four-wheel-drive engines and an Urban Search and Rescue Vehicle – with total man power of 10, said Brown. Lake County provided a command vehicle with two personnel and Cal Fire provided one engine with a crew of three.

Once units were on scene and trying to locate the victim – 27-year-old Andrei Vihodet of Sacramento – rescue crews asked Brown to request the assistance of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office rescue helicopter, Henry One.

Rescuers were especially concerned about the approaching darkness and dropping temperatures, Brown said.

Northshore and Lake County rescue personnel were able to drive to within a mile of the victim and started hiking in with rescue equipment, Brown said.

Henry One located Vihodet and landed nearby, said Brown. Vihodet was flown to the command post – the Cache Creek parking lot – to Medic 175 at 5:16 p.m. and transported to Redbud Hospital. Henry One returned to the victim’s location and transported a family member back to the parking lot.

Brown added that all safety equipment left the wilderness area at 6:40 p.m.

A combined effort from fire personnel and Sonoma County Sheriff's rescue helicopter made the rescue successful, said Brown.

Brown said Northshore Fire District would like to thank Sonoma County Sheriff's rescue helicopter, Henry One, for the great work and its availability to help Lake County for the rescue.

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