A screen shot of Google maps topo map of the Hull Mountain area.
MENDOCINO Co., 1/4/17 — With the right tool anything is possible, and in this case that tool was a snowcat. It seems that a group of motorists got stuck on the M-1 road up on Hull Mountain, in the Mendocino National Forest. Elevations up there are above 6000 feet. The three people got stuck on Jan. 2, their reason for trying to drive a remote and tall peak during one of the heaviest snows in the past couple years is unknown.
The Lake County Sheriffs notified the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) on Jan. 3. Under a mutual aid agreement, the MCSO got to borrow the CalFire/South Lake County Fire District’s snowcat. If you’ve never seen one, they look like a big rig cab stuck on tank treads, but specially designed to travel in deep snow.
Members of the MCSO, the MCSO Search and Rescue, and the LCSO Search and Rescue were involved.
On the afternoon of Jan. 3 they started up the snowed in road. About a mile from the stranded motorists the snowcat encountered some mechanical difficulties. While some members of the rescue crew stayed behind to repair the vehicle, others continued on foot to rescue the stranded folks. They successfully retrieved them, and managed to them back to the snowcat, then proceed down the mountain.
No one was hurt.
Sometimes you should carry chains, sometimes you should drive a snowcat.
The full press release:
DATE: “January 4, 2017”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Incident Number: 2017-00206
Crime/Incident: Search and Rescue
Location: US Forrest Service Route M-1, 1\2 mile north of Hull Mountain in the Mendocino National Forrest
Date of Incident: 01-03-2017
Time: 10:30 AM
Victim(s): Alexander Winters 19 Ukiah, Ca; Tyler Bennetto 25 Willits, Ca; Jesse Jones 18 Redwood Valley Ca
Suspect(s): {insert content here}
Written By: Sergeant Andrew Porter #2403
Synopsis: On January 3rd 2017, at approximately 10:30 AM, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office notified the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office that they had received notification that a vehicle with three people was stuck in the snow on US Forrest Route M-1, just north of the Hull Mountain. The information relayed to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s office indicated that the motorists had become stuck the previous day on 01-02-17. After obtaining GPS coordinates the Lake County Sheriff’s Office determined that the location of the stranded motorists was in Mendocino County.
Due to the remote location, coupled with the snowfall and incoming weather front, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the California Office of Emergency Services to request additional resources to rescue the motorists. Under the Mutual Aid system, Cal Fire/South Lake County Fire District deployed a snow-cat, a specialized vehicle for traveling in deep snow, and a rescue crew to assist.
At approximately 2:30 PM, the Snow-Cat and crew were under way driving up Hull Mountain on US Forrest Route M-1. Members of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, and Lake County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue maintained a remote command post near the Gravelly Airport north of Lake Pillsbury. The Snow-cat was able to get within a mile of the stranded motorists before experiences mechanical problems. While the mechanical problems were being resolved, the rescue crew was able to walk the remaining distance to extricate the motorists back to the snow-cat. The Snow-cat was then able to return to the base camp. No injuries were reported and all the motorists were rescued.
Approved by: Lieutenant Shannon Barney
Would that be “perform”?
Thanks, always good to copy-edit your headlines! It should be fixed now but you are very right.