It took several hours Sunday for East County Fire & Rescue personnel and two Camas Fire District paramedics to rescue a man badly injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident in far east Clark County.
A rescue team responded about 2:30 p.m. when a man in his 50s reportedly rolled his ATV on a narrow trail and tumbled about 150 feet down a steep cliff.
The incident occurred 10 to 11 miles by trail from the Jones Creek Campground, which lies a few miles east of Livingston Mountain. Rescue workers had to abandon vehicles and hike the last two miles to reach the victim.
The man, whose identity was unavailable, had suffered traumatic chest and torso injuries, said Nancy Hoober, East County Fire & Rescue spokeswoman.
Hindered by heavy rain showers and poor radio communication in the rugged terrain, rescuers rigged a Stokes-type basket stretcher and rope system to extract the man, whose condition had been stabilized.
Upon observers’ suggestion, the gurney was secured to an ATV and routed east to a more convenient road entering from Skamania County.
The man was transported by ambulance to Southwest Washington Medical Center.
The victim was safely removed by 6 p.m., Hoober said. Seven East County Fire & Rescue firefighter-EMTs joined the effort, she said.