RAMONA (CNS) - Deputies and firefighters came to the rescue Friday when five family members were overcome by heat exhaustion during a sweltering afternoon hike on Cedar Creek Falls Trail in eastern San Diego County.
The emergency on the popular footpath northeast of El Capitan Reservoir near Ramona began about 2 p.m., amid temperatures in the mid-90s, according to Cal Fire and the National Weather Service.
U.S. Forest Service personnel hiked about a mile and a half down the steep sun-baked trail to reach the exhausted group, which included at least one child. They helped load them onto a pair of sheriff's helicopters that landed in open areas nearby, Cal Fire Capt, Thomas Shoots said.
The air crews then dropped off the group -- visitors to the San Diego area from New Jersey -- at a putting green across the street from Cal Fire San Diego Ramona Fire Station 81 on San Vicente Road, where they were met by paramedics.
After getting out of the sun and rehydrating, the rescued tourists were given clean bills of health and released, Shoots said.
Cedar Creek Falls Trail, along with Three Sisters Falls Trail, can be dangerous to hikers in the summer months and have been closed during heat waves in recent years.
