A 19-year-old man who was discovered stranded 150 feet below a trail in Refugio Canyon on Wednesday was airlifted to the hospital with moderate injuries, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department
“Fire crews from the Forest Service were working in the area, and they heard somebody calling for help,” said fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni.
The firefighters cut a line through the heavy brush, which is along Refugio Road near the burn area of the nearly contained Sherpa Fire, and located the victim, Zaniboni said.
“He was semi-disoriented and changing his story quite a bit,” he said.
After telling rescue crews that he had been hiking with friends the night before and fell down the cliff, the man said that he had been hiking Wednesday morning by himself.
Emergency personnel weren’t sure if drugs or alcohol were involved, Zaniboni said.
A county helicopter from the Santa Ynez Airport with paramedics on board hoisted the man out and flew him to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Zaniboni said.
The man’s name and details on his condition were not available.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.