First Responders Team Up To Save Man Who Fell Off Fort Ross Cliff

FORT ROSS, CA — Emergency officials responded to urgent reports that a man had tumbled from a cliff into the Pacific Ocean near Fort Ross Tuesday. The United States Coast Guard was deployed to help the man who "appeared to be barely alive," the California Highway Patrol said in a statement Tuesday.

Fort Ross Fire, the Coast Guard, California State Parks, Sonoma County Sheriff Henry 1 and CHP Helicopter H-32 all collaborated to save the man.

As the CHP helicopter flew overhead, firefighters made their way to the cliff's edge at Fort Ross State Park, confirming there was a person int the water. CHP was able to direct responders to his exact location in the water.

As the helicopter landed on the bluff, the Henry 1 crew was able to perform a long line rescue. Once the man was brought onshore, he was medically assessed and prepared to be air-lifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

He will be treated for his long fall and for sustaining injuries while trapped in the ocean for over an hour.

"Fortunately the patient was wearing a life jacket that was able to keep him afloat in the 50 degree ocean water," CHP officials said in a statement released on Facebook Tuesday. "This incident is the perfect example of how firefighters along with State and County law enforcement save lives every day."