First responders rescued three hikers that fell into the gorge on Avalanche Lake Trail in Glacier National Park on Sunday. 

Shortly after 7 p.m. park dispatch received multiple satellite SOS reports stating that individuals had fallen into Avalanche Creek, and that CPR was being performed on two of the individuals. 

A group of four visitors from Florida were gathering for a photo on the rocks above Avalanche Gorge, when one individual slipped and fell into the water. A second and third person trying to help also fell in.  

Two of the individuals were swept through the gorge while one was able to grab ahold of tree branches in the gorge, waiting for help.  

Rangers responded to find both individuals responsive, as bystanders performing CPR were successful in resuscitating the two individuals that had been swept through the gorge.  

The first ranger on scene was informed of an individual that was trapped in the gorge. The ranger was able to rappel to the individual and secure them while the technical rescue team was assembled and retrieved both the individual and the ranger. 

“The whole incident is really a great example of how fast the emergency response system can be taxed in the valley,” said Sal Baccaro, a firefighter and paramedic with Whitefish Fire Department.  

Baccaro and his partner, Annie Nixon, also responded to the July 6 call for mutual assistance from the National Park Service.

Rescuers were helping one of the patients walk to the trailhead when the pair arrived. Baccaro and Nixon helped stabilize that patient while rescuers returned to Avalanche Creek to retrieve the individual still in the gorge.  

“It’s a pretty unique situation that so many agencies were involved in this incident,” said Baccaro. “When we arrived, we were kind of running all over." 

All patients were transported to Logan Health in Kalispell. One patient was transported by ALERT, the second patient by Three Rivers Ambulance, and the third patient by Whitefish Ambulance.   

All members involved are in stable condition. 

The park would like to thank the park visitors for their heroic efforts that saved lives, Three Rivers Ambulance, ALERT and the Whitefish Fire Department. 

Swift water remains one of Glacier National Park’s deadliest features, claiming the lives of an estimated 36 people in the past 115 years. The gorge is an especially treacherous spot as the waters of Avalanche Creek sluice through slick 30-foot rock walls. Since the park’s opening in 1910, five people have died after falling into the gorge. Two of those fatalities were in 2023 and 2024.  

Warning signs are posted around the area, and some sections of the creek are cordoned off by wooden fencing.