Choppers airlift two accident victims
Jesse Davis | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 9 months AGO
Broken legs led to two emergency airlifts in Lincoln County over the weekend.
On Saturday, 53-year-old Keith Myers of Libby broke his leg when he fell while hiking with a friend in the Williams Creek area a mile east of Kootenai Falls.
Personnel from a multitude of agencies, including the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Highway Patrol, Libby Volunteer Fire Department, Libby Volunteer Ambulance, U.S. Forest Service, Advanced Life Support and David Thompson Search and Rescue responded to the call.
Firefighters established incident command and prepared a helicopter landing zone, also clearing trees.
Emergency crews used steep bank rope-rescue techniques to lower Myers down to the edge of U.S. 2, where a Sandpoint Life Flight helicopter landed and transported him to St. John’s Hospital in Libby.
On Sunday, 37-year-old Tanya Griffith of Libby broke her leg while snowmobiling in the Pete Creek area in the Yaak north of Troy.
Lincoln County deputies, Troy Volunteer Ambulance, David Thompson Search and Rescue and the U.S. Forest Service responded to the scene, where ambulance personnel transported Griffith to the top of Yaak Hill to be picked up by a Spokane Life Flight helicopter.
Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.