2005 Whitney lightning deaths in 2015 medical journal
The most recent Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal had an article on a Boy Scout troop lightning event in 2005. Not sure why the article is published now so many years later. Some of you may already know about this story. I did not, and share it as a learning experience. It is not meant to be critical by me. Just FYI. Sometimes no matter what you do, Mother Nature wins.
The comments below are paraphrased or interpreted from the article's Medspeak. Those from me in brackets.
General Location: Sandy Meadow 10,600 ft, about a mile from Crabtree Ranger Station.
Storm: highly localized 4:28 pm and continued off and on for hours. Apparently at Sandy Meadow was intense, but "unremarkable" at the Ranger Station at the time of the incident. [?? Surely thunder would have been heard from a lightning strike 1 mile away]
Location of tents: As weather deteriorated, they correctly spread out, they correctly went about 150 yds into the woods rather than staying in the meadow. One tarp was tied to a larger, taller (55ft) more mature pine than made it a more likely target -- it was.
Tents spread out? yes, correctly. 4 tarps or tents over about 100ft. This (A) mathematically increases the risk of something being hit, (B) decreases the risk of total injuries, and provides more uninjured people to assist the victims. [In this case, 100 ft was not enough].
Assume the position? Burns on backs and buttocks of several members indicated at least some had not assumed a crouched position.
Initial triage: 8 of 12 people initially unconscious and/or paralyzed. 3 required CPR started by fellow Scout members. One victim was later declared dead at the scene, one had limited signs of survival and died later in hospital. One survived.
Help: 2 uninjured people correctly and immediately sent to Ranger Station for help -- yes.
Ranger leaving station in middle of storm to assist in an unsafe area: - NOT endorsed by EMS agencies, going by the rule of not potentially adding to the injury or fatality list. [I dare say, many rangers would have gone like he did to become first responder -- although heavy lightning would give one great pause]
Other assets: 5 helicopters, 2 ambulances, 2 hospitals, 15 field personnel + 14 logistical support. multiple attempts to evacuate were compromised by continued storm, darkness. Took 4+ hrs.
Was evacuation manually by litter possible? Timewise?-no. Ever?- unlikely. Workload is extraordinary. Because of rapid fatigue, terrain, etc, they estimated needing 16 people and even then only making 0.25 mph. (!)
Is CPR effective? For immediate revival -- yes. Longer term -- no. Time is of the essence. Survival rate plummets even in best of situations. Effective CPR on a carried litter or horseback is impossible, difficult on a helicopter unless performer is unbuckled / conditions smooth.
Rescue difficulties: problems in continuing storm: helicopters, effective two-way communications, personnel safety.
Followup: Now almost 10 years later: The survivors all recovered physically, but "were still recovering emotionally. None of the original [surviving] party has maintained backpacking or hiking hobbies since the event."
