Men hit by lightning plucked from mountain in record-high Colorado helicopter rescues
One man remained hospitalized in fair condition Friday while the other was treated at a hospital and released.
The rescues happened late Thursday near the summit of Torreys Peak, a 14,300-foot (4,360-meter) mountain about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Denver. Torreys Peak is ranked variously as the 11th or 12th highest summit in Colorado and is less than 200 feet (60 meters) shorter than the state's highest mountain, Mount Elbert.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The men from New York state, whose identities weren't released, had decided to summit the mountain during a road trip, Alpine Rescue Team public information officer Jake Smith said.
They first called for help around 5 p.m. after getting off course on their way up a technical route. A different route doesn't require climbing gear or expertise.
'It doesn't sound like they had a ton of prior experience. I think it was probably just a lack of awareness,' said Smith, who was among the rescuers on the ground.
Rescue officials guided the men back on course, and they made it to the summit. Minutes later, one of them called back to report they had been struck by lightning.
About 30 rescuers went up the mountain while another team used a Colorado National Guard Blackhawk helicopter to get the more seriously injured man, who was nonresponsive and in critical condition, off the peak using a hoist at 14,200 feet (4,330 meters).
He was flown down to an ambulance and taken to a local hospital, then to a Denver hospital with a burn unit, Smith said.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The helicopter made another trip around midnight to fetch the less seriously hurt man by partially touching down on the mountain.
The rescuers believe Colorado's previous record for a helicopter rescue was 13,700 feet (4,175 meters). Such rescues are challenging because thin air causes helicopters to lose lifting ability the higher they fly; the Blackhawk has an altitude limit of about 19,000 feet (5,800 meters).
Hikers and climbers often prefer to ascend during the morning and avoid the Rocky Mountain high country on summer afternoons. Thunderstorms are common and can develop suddenly with dangerous lightning, hail and plummeting temperatures.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Observer
5 days ago
- National Observer
Evacuations ordered as wildfire roars near Newfoundland's largest city
Residents near Newfoundland and Labrador's largest city were ordered to flee a wildfire Tuesday, as thousands of other people across the province faced the prospect of leaving or losing their homes to flames. Officials ordered evacuations in some parts of Paradise, a suburb of the capital St. John's. The news came barely an hour after Premier John Hogan said a fire had ignited in Spaniard's Bay, N.L., adding to a seemingly relentless series of wildfires erupting amid a spate of dry, sweltering heat. Sharlene Johnson, a 48-year-old single mother living near St. John's in Conception Bay South, said the fire situation in the province is unlike anything she has ever seen. Her home was part of a sweeping evacuation alert announced Monday, which expanded to include roughly 20,000 people on Tuesday afternoon. "I'm kind of just a sitting duck right now, waiting to see and reading news updates,' she said in an interview Tuesday. "I do worry about things like if I have to leave here or if my home was to burn down. It's something that is now very real to me and it's terrifying." Much of Atlantic Canada has been gripped by unusually hot and dry weather this summer, stoking the conditions for extreme wildfire risk. There were at least four out-of-control fires burning across Newfoundland and Labrador Tuesday, including a wildfire near Kingston, N.L., along the northeastern shore of Conception Bay, which encompassed 64 square kilometres. The Kingston fire had driven about 3,000 people from their homes as of Monday and destroyed an unknown number of houses. The fire that prompted the evacuations in Paradise ignited on Monday afternoon, roughly 15 kilometres south of St. John's, near Paddy's Pond. It had grown to about two square kilometres by Monday evening. The fires prompted the provincial government to declare a local state of emergency Tuesday evening for Conception Bay South and Paradise, as well as Southlands and Galway, which are within the city of St. John's. Water bombers will share the firefighting work between the Kingston and Paddy's Pond fires, which are fewer than 100 km apart, Hogan told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. Four additional helicopters were en route, including two Black Hawk helicopters from Utah to help with nighttime operations, he said. It wasn't long before he had to make a post on social media to confirm the fire in Spaniard's Bay, which was burning roughly 25 km southwest of the ferocious Kingston wildfire. "Crews are responding," Hogan wrote. "If you are in the area, please monitor official channels and stay safe." In a separate Facebook post, the Town of Spaniard's Bay issued an urgent alert imploring residents of a wooded road to evacuate. It later posted that the blaze was considered under control but said crews were still at the scene Tuesday evening working to put out hot spots, and police would advise residents when it was safe to return home. Meanwhile, in Nova Scotia, crews were called to a fire that broke out in woodlands on the western edge of Halifax on Tuesday afternoon, not far from the Bayers Lake business park. Local authorities said a Nova Scotia Health outpatient clinic in the area was being evacuated, as was a commercial building nearby. In New Brunswick, firefighters were battling two out-of-control wildfires. Residents north of Moncton were told to prepare for evacuation. Despite parched conditions in much of the province, there were no evacuations as of Tuesday, and no homes or other structures had been lost. Environment Canada extended heat warnings across Atlantic Canada until at least Wednesday, with the exception of the southern reaches of Newfoundland. In eastern Newfoundland, the humidity was expected to make temperature feel like 41 C in some areas. Agriculture Canada said Tuesday that 56 per cent of Atlantic Canada was classified as abnormally dry, with 90 per cent of Nova Scotia in a moderate drought. The statistics also show that St John's has received only one-third of the rain it usually gets between April and July. In Halifax, the figure is about 40 per cent. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025.
Calgary Herald
22-07-2025
- Calgary Herald
Jasper visitors warned: 'We don't need another cathartic experience for your tourism entertainment'
Article content Article content The thing that's striking about a wildfire's aftermath is how random the damage is. One neighbourhood is razed, the next is intact. One home stands on a street, while the rest of the houses were destroyed. A decimated Esso station by the rail tracks sits right across the street from a Montana's restaurant that's intact and open for business. The fire spread into town by burning embers that were catapulted into neighbourhoods by high winds. So, it was as if Mother Nature played a fiery game of Russian Roulette. A house got hit and started to burn, while the next street avoided the fire. Article content 'It was hit and miss,' said Ward. Article content And that random nature of the fire makes it hard for residents to process what happened to their town. Some lost everything, some didn't. And, mentally, that might be tougher than if the entire town had burned. Article content Survivor's guilt is a very real thing in Jasper, said Smith. And he recognized it when Jasper was reopened and people were first brought back into town to find out if they'd lost everything — or not. Article content Article content 'The first impression when you come into town was, gee, it's not so bad, everything's here,' said Smith. 'But you drive down main street, and then you get to the far end, and it was like, oh yeah, wow. They were bringing in residents in busloads to drive around and show them the areas that were affected. And then the other folks come in, and then there's the other side of that. They feel bad because their stuff didn't burn.'
Edmonton Journal
22-07-2025
- Edmonton Journal
Jasper visitors warned: 'We don't need another cathartic experience for your tourism entertainment'
Article content Article content The thing that's striking about a wildfire's aftermath is how random the damage is. One neighbourhood is razed, the next is intact. One home stands on a street, while the rest of the houses were destroyed. A decimated Esso station by the rail tracks sits right across the street from a Montana's restaurant that's intact and open for business. The fire spread into town by burning embers that were catapulted into neighbourhoods by high winds. So, it was as if Mother Nature played a fiery game of Russian Roulette. A house got hit and started to burn, while the next street avoided the fire. Article content 'It was hit and miss,' said Ward. Article content And that random nature of the fire makes it hard for residents to process what happened to their town. Some lost everything, some didn't. And, mentally, that might be tougher than if the entire town had burned. Article content Survivor's guilt is a very real thing in Jasper, said Smith. And he recognized it when Jasper was reopened and people were first brought back into town to find out if they'd lost everything — or not. Article content Article content 'The first impression when you come into town was, gee, it's not so bad, everything's here,' said Smith. 'But you drive down main street, and then you get to the far end, and it was like, oh yeah, wow. They were bringing in residents in busloads to drive around and show them the areas that were affected. And then the other folks come in, and then there's the other side of that. They feel bad because their stuff didn't burn.' Article content
