Santa Barbara County firefighters, search & rescue crews, and a Calstar helicopter responded Wednesday afternoon to Point Sal State Beach in the North County to aid an ill hiker.

Three people were hiking on the Pt. Sal trail and one of them had some sort of diabetic emergency, Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Mark Williams said.

Radio traffic indicated that the patient walked out to the parking lot himself, but 12 SAR members were deployed into the field and found him not far from the trailhead, said Valerie Walston, public information officer for the Santa Barbara Search & Rescue Team. SAR drove him in and Calstar nurses treated him for mild diabetic shock, she said. 

Because of Pt. Sal’s remote location at the north end of Vandenberg Air Force Base, emergency personnel were encountering delays in locating and reaching the patient.

The Guadalupe Fire Department was also on scene.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.