Hiker rescued off cliff near Point Sal State Beach

A hiker was rescued Saturday afternoon after being trapped on a cliff in the Point Sal State Beach area.

County dispatch received a call around 4:45 p.m. of a possible hiker in distress.

The Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit from Santa Ynez Airport assisted Guadalupe Fire Department and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department in responding to the incident.

The helicopter located the victim standing on the rocks above the surf. The forty-year-old victim was determined to be not injured. Crews decided to hoist down a County Paramedic to retrieve the man and then drop him off in a safe location.

The hiker was dropped off at a nearby location where Guadalupe police transported him back to his parked vehicle.

Santa Barbara County Fire official Mike Eliason says that while this was not a life or death situation, the remoteness of the location would have made for a very lengthy and delayed rescue from ground or water units, and would have progressed into the night.

It was determined that the man hiked down the cliff and then slid down the rock and sand, and landed on the rock face near the water.