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Firefighters, motorcyclist, helicopter deployed to rescue injured hiker in Liberty Lake Regional Park

Flight crews on the Spokane County Sheriff's Office's Air 1 helicopter hoisted an injured hiker after a fall in Liberty Lake Regional Park and flew her to Pavilion Park, shown here, where she was treated by AMR. (Courtesy of SCSO Air 1 Twitter)
By Maggie Quinlan maggieq@spokesman.com(509) 459-5135
Flight crews on the Spokane County Sheriff's Office's Air 1 helicopter hoisted an injured hiker after a fall in Liberty Lake Regional Park and flew her to Pavilion Park, shown here, where she was treated by AMR. (Courtesy of SCSO Air 1 Twitter)

When a woman who had hiked more than 3 miles into Liberty Lake Regional Park was injured in a fall Tuesday and responders could not reach her by four-wheeler, local firefighters got creative, according to the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

Spokane Valley firefighter EMTs and paramedics from Engine 3 and Engine 5 started the 3.5-mile hike while carrying medical equipment by hand, a SVFD release said.

Simultaneously, the Spokane Regional Air Support Unit flew the Spokane County Sheriff’s Air 1 helicopter to the scene, carrying tactical flight officers from surrounding law enforcement agencies and helicopter rescue medics from the Spokane Valley and Spokane fire departments, the release said.

A park ranger on a motorcycle found the hiker and directed the helicopter to her, the release said.

The helicopter reached the injured hiker before ground crews got there and performed a hoist rescue. The helicopter brought her to Pavilion Park in Liberty Lake, where she was transferred to an ambulance for transport to a hospital, according to the release.