Local fire and emergency crews came to the assistance of one another during the day on Monday, a day that saw heat indices above 100 degrees.
Jamestown Fire Chief Jeff Landers said that shortly after noon Monday, the South Russell and Jamestown fire departments were dispatched to the hiking trail at Lake Cumberland State Park to assist in retrieving a 45-year-old female hiker who had fallen and injured herself while hiking. Turns out, the hiker, who was from Michigan, was nearly a mile off the trail in the woods and more assistance was needed as both the Russell Springs and Eli fire departments, the Russell County Rescue Squad and Russell County EMS dispatched units to the scene upon request. The female hiker, once retrieved by emergency personnel, was then taken to Halcomb’s Landing above Wolf Creek Dam and flown to the University of Kentucky hospital via emergency helicopter for treatment of an expected broken ankle and other injuries. No further information on the hiker was immediately available.
While this incident was occurring, Jamestown Fire received a call of a rolled bail of hay on fire in a field off McKinney Lane in Jamestown around 1:30 p.m. At the request of Jamestown, Landers said a Russell Springs fire crew responded to the hay fire and extinguished the blaze before it spread. The cause of the hay fire was expected machinery malfunction involving a hay bailer.
Landers said Monday’s incidents and their response prove that local fire and emergency crews work well together in times of need and thanked all those involved for their mutual aid as the events unfolded, especially given the sweltering heat that crews worked in.