Berkeley firefighters rescue hiker who fell into creek bed
The 26-year-old woman was hiking near Codornices Park on Friday when she fell off a walking bridge near a waterfall, BFD said.
The Berkeley Fire Department rescued a hiker on Friday after she fell about 10 feet into a creek bed and sustained a severe ankle injury, authorities said.
The incident drew media helicopters to the Berkeley Hills over Codornices Park, community members said.
The 26-year-old woman was hiking near the park Friday shortly before 5 p.m. when she fell off a walking bridge near a waterfall, the Berkeley Fire Department said.
Due to her injury, she was unable to walk out on her own.
Firefighters carried out a low angle rope rescue and used a Stokes basket to extricate the hiker from the small canyon before taking her to the hospital for treatment, BFD said.
BFD Battalion Chief Bill Kehoe said firefighters had trained in the area just last year due to similar incidents in the area in the past.
"Because of the training, they knew exactly where the patient was," he said.
As a result, the crew was familiar with the location and had a rescue plan ready.
BFD rescued a hiker who fell into a creek bed, Dec. 1, 2023. Berkeley Fire Fighters Association
They also had a way to get the patient to the street faster, Kehoe said, thanks to a local homeowner who had told them they could cross her property should the need ever arise.
The access point allowed them to skip a sometimes steep, narrow walk down the trail through Codornices Park to get the woman to the ambulance.
Benner Falls is located in a mostly hidden pocket of Berkeley just north of Codornices Park.
It's accessed through private property with the permission of nearby homeowners.
Coles Trail Tales
Read more about this "hidden walk" on the LOCCNA website and via the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association.
