Hiker airlifted to Mission Hospital

The Laguna Beach Fire Department and Orange County Fire Authority rescued an injured hiker via helicopter at 10:22 a.m. Saturday in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, according to a news release.

The 51-year-old man, who was just off of the Laguna Ridge Trail on the north side of Laguna Canyon Road, was deemed a trauma case due to his medical needs and injuries sustained.

After Laguna Beach firefighters made their way in about a half-mile to locate and treat the man, they determined he couldn’t be hand-carried out, so he had to be transported by helicopter to Mission Hospital Trauma Center in Mission Viejo.

A friend who was hiking with the man wasn’t sure what caused the medical emergency, but said the two had hiked quite a distance and remained hydrated, the release said.

Laguna Beach Fire Capt. and paramedic Eric Lether and his crew from Engine 1, including engineer/paramedic Alex Pacheco, firefighter Danny Kalscheuer, and Laguna Engine 3 engineer Knox Tiernan treated the victim once they reached him.

OCFA Helicopter 2, along with a technical rescue crew from OCFA Truck 9, airlifted him to the hospital.

—Alisha Gomez