MADERA – Six Madera County residents were honored today by the Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff’s Office for heroism in going above and beyond to save the lives of fellow citizens.
Today at the weekly board of supervisors meeting, Justin Krucki, Shawn Anthill, Ryan Hansen, Scott Hamilton, Justin Hamilton and Ryan Ellis were recognized for their life-saving efforts during a heavy snow storm near Bass Lake in February.
At around 2:45 p.m. on Feb. 9, the recipients of today’s award were in their cabin in Beasore Meadows. There was six-to-eight feet of snow on the ground and more on the way as it was actively snowing.
One of the men saw a woman approaching the cabin. She told them that her father-in-law and husband were down and unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The men wasted no time leaping into action. They grabbed their gear and were out the door, jumping on their snowmobiles to go and assist.
Despite the heavy snow which caused them to get stuck at least once, the men made it to the storage shed where the people had been overcome by carbon monoxide, and rescued the subjects by lifting two unconscious individuals about seven feet up to an open snow door.
After completing the rescue, the men did not stop there. They began digging out the stuck tracked OHV, then loaded the three injured parties and headed out into the storm to transport them some 15 miles down to Bass Lake. One of the rescuers was able to get out in front of the others to alert emergency responders.
“The men risked their lives to rescue these individuals from the storage shed,” said the Sheriff’s Office today in a Facebook post. “They pulled off a coordinated effort to perform a skilled rescue, and were able to coordinate with Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Teams, California Highway Patrol Helicopter, Cal Fire, Madera County Fire and Sierra Ambulance with flawless skill.”
When the men arrived at the intersection of Road 274 and Beasore Road, sheriff’s deputies, SAR Teams, firefighters, and Sierra Ambulance personnel were on scene and waiting. One subject was transported to a waiting CHP helicopter and flown to Community Regional Medical Center. The two others were taken by ground ambulance to CRMC.
The six rescuers then responded back up to Beasore Meadows to help SAR Teams assist the remaining uninjured family members in getting down to Bass Lake.
“We commend this group of men for their quick response, and taking action without hesitation,” says the Sheriff’s Office. “Their life saving efforts will not be forgotten.”
