NEVADA CITY, CA – A woman and her dog are both alive and well after being rescued in the South Yuba River Canyon last week.
The incident unfolded on the evening of Aug. 26. While hiking with friends, the woman’s dog reportedly fell into the river near Emerald Pools. The woman went into the river after the dog, and both were swept downstream. A friend called 911 at 6:40 p.m. and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) was dispatched and activated its Nevada County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue (NCSSAR) Ropes and Drones Teams.
The NCSSAR Drones Team located the woman and her dog stranded on a large boulder mid-stream. Due to the complex, steep terrain and difficult access, additional specialized fire resources were requested, bringing together technical rescue and swift water teams from Nevada County Consolidated FD, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and CAL FIRE NEU. The U.S. Forest Service-Tahoe National Forest also assisted.
Using a 300-foot rope system, an NCSSAR Ropes Team rescuer was lowered to the riverbed, assessed the subject who had minor injuries, and equipped her with a personal floatation device. The rescuer secured the dog in a harness and the rescuer and the dog were safely raised to the rim of the river canyon. The Ropes Team member was then lowered back down to the woman, secured her in a climbing harness, and initiated a haul up the cliff face, transitioning to a secondary rope system established by Fire resources at the rim.
Due to the complexity of her location in the water and challenging cliff terrain, the entire rescue operation took approximately 4 hours and involved 50 first responders. NCSO would like to thank NCSSAR and all partners for their direct assistance in this successful rescue mission.