Hiker airlifted to hospital for snake bite
By Matthew Rodriguez
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LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS) — Los Angeles firefighters airlifted a hiker after a snake bit him along a Griffith Park trail Thursday afternoon.
It happened at roughly 5 p.m. along a remote section of Toyon Trail, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters said LA City Park Rangers escorted the hiker to the trail’s designated helispot in fair condition before handing him over to the flight crew.
Paramedics treated the patient while flying him to a local hospital that had antivenom for the snake bite. It’s unclear what kind of snake bit the hiker. Griffith Park said that there are a variety of snakes in the area, including gopher snakes and western rattlesnakes.
LAFD said that they receive the most snake bite reports during the spring, after the animals emerge from their hibernation-like state. During the winter, snakes enter a low-energy state called brumation to endure the cold weather. They typically come out when warmer weather comes around in the spring, typically in March and April, according to North Carolina State University.
A study from the National Institutes of Health said that an average of 57,500 people suffer snake bites every year. Less than 1% of the patients, roughly 370 people, die of the injuries.
Firefighters said they have seen more snake bite calls than in previous years in Fryman Canyon, which is roughly 6 miles away from Toyon Trail, across the 101 Freeway.
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